What Was Left Behind
by wopolusa
Summary: Vargur, a young dragon, lives on the icy frozen island of Kholgori. Meanwhile... thousands of kilometres away another dragon, vaguely familiar to Vargur, makes friends with a misunderstood Viking boy.
1. Prologue

**Prologue:**

Dawn rose from the horizon hesitantly, slowly throwing its light upon the treetops and mountainsides of central Kholgori. The night fury that flew above desperately scanned the ground below, searching with a seriousness that could kill. Accompanied by eyes that could see a spec of dust a thousand metres away, the Fury easily found his target.

The Nightmare dashed through the snowy forest canopy below, he had escaped during the night. But the Night Fury had been sure to tear one of his wings off several days before to prevent him flying away, clearly with success. Unable to fly, and crawling across the frozen landscape, its bright, orange coat did it no favours when trying to hide in the white terrain.

Narghul began his descent, amassing great speed when bearing down on the Nightmare, who was unaware of the fast-approaching black mass. With massive force Narghul slammed into the back of the dragon, claws at the ready. He heard several bones snap as he tore at the dragon's tough exterior. The dragon twisted and turned, screaming all along; only once it was on the floor and barely able to move did he cease his attack.

:: Where is it?! :: demanded Narghul.

The Nightmare just gave him a defiant look, closing in on his final few breaths. Narghul pressed his claws against the dragon's side and tore downwards. Four neat lines of red began appearing, flowing unhealthily slow and pulsing from the Nightmare. It gave a cry of pain.

:: I don't know why this means so much to you, their species will make us prosper! ::

:: Look at the way you speak, it's like you're under their influence already. Now for the last time… WHERE. IS. IT!? :: He roared. But the Nightmare did not answer.

Narghul raised his paw again, ready to tear more holes into his victim, but it was all the convincing it needed.

:: Stop, stop! :: The Nightmare sighed :: H- Have you heard of the human island Berk? ::

:: Yes, several days of flight south? :: Narghul asked, the dragon nodded in response.

:: It's only a few minutes east of there. But I'm telling you, they mean no- :: The dragon stopped halfway through his sentence; Narghul's teeth bit straight through his weak neck. He had all the information he needed. Finally, after weeks of searching, he had found it. He could tell none of the others, it would cause panic and chaos. Rhekka, his mate, had enough on her plate already.

He dragged the dragon across the snowy fields to a small valley, two icy, steep mountains surrounding him on either side. A weak river ran through here, barely moving enough to stay liquid, he could not bury the large dragon. This would have to do. With a little more effort the carcass of the Nightmare was below the surface of the water, its size slowed the water's progression even further, no doubt it would freeze over soon. It was a honourable enough deathbed for such a creature. With a valiant nod in respect, he took off to the clouds, eager to return home.

* * *

With powerful wings Narghul stopped himself almost instantly at his cave entrance, awaiting Rhekka and two eggs, which rested inside. Slowly, as to not cause any disturbance, he entered, searching around for what he desired. Peeking around the corner Narghul noticed a third of what he expected. The beautiful figure of Rhekka laid in front of him, head raised, but facing the opposite direction. There were no egg's anywhere to be seen though… Narghul did not like the look of this.

:: Rh- Rhek? ::

His mate turned around instantly at the voice, darting immediately toward him, crash-tackling him to the ground.

:: Narghul! :: She cried, licking at his face. :: I've missed you so much, you're never leaving again! Ten moons and I haven't so much as heard a peep from you… ::

:: I'm sorry I'm sorry! I was busy beyond belief, but I promise I can stay until they hatch this time. ::

Rhekka gave him a very worried look.

:: Speaking of which :: He gulped, :: where are they? :: He searched desperately for the egg's that, unbeknownst to him, were no longer there.

She took quick trip to the corner of the room, and, out of a bed of heated rocks and leaves, she gently lifted two tiny dragons from their resting place, putting them before Narghul.

:: I'm sorry… b- but you missed it. ::

The two dragons had slept straight through their travel across the cave, snoozing gently before him, their miniscule chests rising and falling with each breath.

:: Your daughter's name is Lorre :: Rhekka stated, :: Of course, you name the male ::

:: Hmmm… as for this little guy… :: Narghul began, looking at the slightly smaller of the two, still in awe that he was now a father. Slowly the hatchling opened his eyes. Two violently green spec's stared at him with a warm affection. He rose up onto his feet, still only about the size of Narghul's paw. The little dragon knew exactly who this was. He raised a paw up in attempt to reach the face that was far beyond his leg's length, losing balance with only three legs on the ground and he stumbled slightly. Narghul brought his head right down to his son's. Who now tried again to touch him, this time with success. The tiny paw managed to send a shockwave across Narghul's body. He was a father, this was the first time he had touched his own son. The tiny dragon, which had seemed so innocent, now began trying to nibble on his father's face, the tiny jaw couldn't even be felt by Narghul but it was a ferocious attempt nonetheless. He couldn't help but chuckle at his son's adorable attempts to play-fight with him.

He looked up at Rhekka confidently, he had made his decision.

:: Vargur… :: He smiled at the dragon who had switched to ferociously biting at his paws :: …the destroyer ::

* * *

Welcome to the island of Kholgori.

**A special thanks goes to Revanhun and Dusklightening for beta'ing**


	2. CH1: Departure

**Part One:**

**Lost**

"_Without __**something**__ to strive toward, you live to fear an inevitable death. But without __**someone**__ to strive for, you will welcome it with open arms."_

**Vargur**

Fits of childish laughter emitted from the cave belonging to Narghul. Vargur tried with all his might to try bite at his father's soft spots, his earplates and tail were ideal, but the large dragon was very elusive for his size.

:: You have to try harder than that! :: Narghul teased, before continuing with his outburst of laughter that could have belonged to a dragon well below his years.

Vargur laughed in a similar fashion, but he was a little more determined than the older dragon that avoided him so skilfully. But when all hope seemed lost, Vargur finally got hold of his father's tail, a few centimetres from his aileron's and bit down hard. He would not let this opportunity go to waste.

In all honesty it was actually pretty painful, a Night Fury hatchling's bite is deadly to many of the smaller critters on Kholgori. But Narghul hid his pain.

:: Is that all you've got? :: He taunted, shaking his tail wildly to get the little, blue blob off his tail, but Vargur sure had one fierce grip. After several minutes of trying to physically shake or pull Vargur off nothing had worked. It was time for plan B.

Quickly Narghul bolted over into another section of the cave system in which they lived, there he found what he was looking for. Three fish lay in unison on the ground, caught earlier by Narghul himself.

Slowly, pretending to not notice the dragon that had attached itself to his tail, he leaned down and sniffed the fish, making sure to be overly loud so the little dragon could hear.

:: Mmmmm :: He mumbled.

He picked up the juicy fish like it were made of gold, delicately holding it from it's tail. He twisted his body and made sure to eat the whole thing in one big gulp, right in front of Vargur.

He could tell from his eyes that plan B was becoming a success.

:: Only two left. :: Narghul sighed, as if he was disappointed that was all he could eat in front of the hungry little hatchling.

He picked up the second, repeating the process of fish number one, this time saliva started oozing from the sides of the Night Furies currently occupied mouth while he stared at the fish with glazed eyes. But once more Narghul ate it in one mouthful.

A small, almost pitiful, whine emitted from Vargur. But this was no time for feeling sorry.

Narghul picked the last fish up, being sure to wave it unnecessarily in front of Vargur's eyes, right next to his nostrils. The little dragon could barely contain himself from the sweet scent.

Slowly, menacingly and with evil in his very eyes, Narghul opened his mouth wide, and slowly raised the fish up with his paw, ready to drop it straight into where the other two fish now sat.

Vargur couldn't hold it, with great speed he let go of his father's tail, and dived heroically after the fish suspended in mid-air. It had now become his jaw's newest victim.

Narghul put the two down and quickly darted to the opposite side of the cave, to desperately massaging his numb tail. There were, of course, no bite marks. Just a small, semi-circular mark from the Furies tooth-retracted jaw. In hurt nonetheless.

:: You sure have a solid bite to you. :: Narghul snickered, licking at his wounds.

Vargur responded with an adorably naughty smile, cheeks filled with food.

Narghul left him to his meal, and went over to his mate in a nearby cavern.

:: You two are too cute. :: She smiled at him.

:: Oh cut it out, it's all him. I'm just an 'over-ambitious old grump' remember? ::

:: I told you I was sorry about saying that! ::

Narghul just chuckled and walked over to her, laying on his back beside her body. Putting his tail in between them to show off his wounds.

:: Little guy's got one vicious bite. ::

:: Ouch, that looks nasty. :: She said, then gave out a big sigh afterward, :: I'm still a bit worried he's a little… you know… ::

:: Small? :: Narghul finished her sentence, she just nodded in reply. :: It's nothing to worry about, he'll either grow out of it or embrace it. I was small too, when I was his age. ::

:: His sister and some of the other's tease him about it, I hope he doesn't take it to heart... ::

:: That's because they don't understand Vargur, he's a quiet fellow, he just wants to be friends with everyone, but sadly that just… doesn't happen around here. I've tried my best to keep his spirits up. ::

She looked lovingly at him, :: I told you you'd be a good father. :: She said, cuddling up to him.

They nudged their muzzles together, eyes closed. But the special moment was interrupted as soon as it began.

:: AAAaaah- :: The scream came, ending abruptly with a great big splash of water.

:: That doesn't sound like eating fish. :: Narghul stated as he hastily got up and bolted over to the exit the sound had come from.

Standing on the edge of the ledge, overlooking the ocean he desperately tried to listen out for Vargur, but he was nowhere to be found.

Until the slight splashing of water got Narghul to look down at the small blue figure in the ocean, desperately trying to keep his head above the water.

Instantly Narghul dived down to his son, speedily grabbing him out from the freezing water and carrying him back into the cave to where a relieved Rhekka was standing.

Narghul curled around and put Vargur right at his belly, trying to keep the shivering dragon warm.

:: I- I- I c-can't fl-fly. :: Vargur managed a smile, despite the cold.

:: I couldn't tell, are you certain? :: Narghul asked, sarcasm pouring from the words, which resulted in a great big glare from Rhekka.

:: What in the world were you thinking?! :: She said, :: You could have gotten yourself killed if we hadn't heard you! ::

:: I- I saw another d- dragon go past. I th- thought it was daddy, so I tri- tried to follow him. :: He managed to mutter. :: Sorry. ::

:: Don't worry about her Vargur, :: Narghul began :: She's just jealous of how 'cool' you are ::

The pun earned a huge, disappointed sigh from Rhekka, and a look from Vargur that questioned his sanity.

:: Hey hey hey, I spent hours thinking of that one! ::

Vargur, now much warmer, couldn't help but laugh. Resting in the warmth of his father's lap.

* * *

Since he had first been able to open his eyes, a mere three weeks ago, Vargur had wanted to fly. All he wanted to do was fly, soar above danger and mere land creatures. Once he could fly he would be the god of all creatures, gliding over the moon and the stars.

For now though, while he was just a hatchling, he would have to wait.

:: Vargur! :: His mother, Rhekka, called him inside.

:: Can't I just stay out here pleeease?! :: A whine came in return.

:: So you can try to kill yourself again? Yes that's going to happen. :: Came a sarcastic reply.

:: I promised I wouldn't d- :: He nagged.

:: Inside now! I'm not putting up with your nonsense! ::

Vargur groaned in retaliation, but turned and entered the cave. His mother lay flat on the stony surface, head resting on the ground, her eyes half open, expressing that she had dealt with enough from her children for one day.

:: Where's dad? ::

:: Narghul went hunting with some of the others, he'll be back later. Your sister has some fish if you're hungry. ::

He groaned again, being not fond of his sister. Slowly he walked over and edged around the corner where she sat.

:: How was outside, tiny? :: She instantly spoke

:: Don't call me that! ::

:: Sorry, pipsqueak. :: She replied.

He sighed, she was _impossible_! Since they were born, barely an hour apart, they had been rivals. She was slightly older but acted like she had more experience than he could dream of.

After the whole jumping off the cliff incident mother had been a lot more protective over Vargur than his more independent sister. But that didn't mean she was better than him, did it?

He walked over to the pile of fish on the ground. Cod, Pollack and all sorts littered the ground, but no eel. Definitely no eel. He dragged a nice, juicy fish over from the pile into a dark corner, so he could eat in relative peace without his sister's interruptions, but to no avail.

:: Hey that ones the smallest, and its still about the same size as you! ::

:: I'm not even that small! Go away and let me eat! ::

:: I was here fir- ::

Their mother butt in :: Can you two just either get along, or not talk at all. You're like those stupid human children… ::

The stories of humans had been spoken about often. They were strange creatures; apparently they only walked on two feet! They ate meat and plants together! They kill animals to steal their fur instead of making their own. Strange, strange creatures they were…

To defy his sister, Vargur absolutely stuffed himself and ate the entire cod. Truth be told, it was rather large compared to his stomach. But if he didn't finish it she would mock him even more.

He was a small dragon; there was no denying it. Even she, born hardly an hour before him, towered over him, let alone the adult dragons that could easily have stood on him and not even noticed a tingle on their paw. In a way, though, it was his biggest advantage. Even for a Fury he was very fast and agile, able to crawl through the tiniest of holes and dodge any of his sister's attempts at physical bullying.

But few saw past his size, writing him off as a runt before even attempting to give him a go, except his father. He had taught Vargur everything he could in the time he had about being fast and stealthy. He was the only person who made Vargur feel special; he was the only person who noticed his talents instead of mocking his inabilities. For he too had been small at birth. But now, two hundreds years old, he was the most revered fighter on the isle of Kholgori.

Vargur, now finished with dinner, poked his head back out of the cave exit. A lighter blue sky surrounded him while a small orange and pink sliver began to appear over the horizon to his south. He looked cautiously to his mother who slept across the room, and continued to move slowly, step by silent step outside of the cave.

:: Don't even think about it! :: She said sternly, one eye now open. Caught out, Vargur rushed back beside her, embarrassed.

But, out of the corner of his eye, he swore he had seen a dark black figure launch up and across the ocean, far in the distance.

* * *

**Narghul**

A blistering cold wind brushed over his scales. A deep roar of the sea sounded below. He had sat, in the distance, staring at his home. His son, who reminded so accurately of himself at such an age, was attempting to get outside. Edging further and further out of the cave. He loved the outside. Too bad he had a tendency to jump off things a flightless dragon should not be jumping off.

Something had caught the small dragon's attention, because he now stopped and ran back inside. Probably his mother no doubt, Narghul was sure she had some sort of unnatural sixth sense for things like that.

But now that no eyes could see him he launched up into the air. Diving over the cliff edge and sticking as close to the water as possible. Hopefully nobody would spot his black coat against the dark waters.

He travelled south, as much as he did not want to, but he had a mission. If everything went to plan he would be back with his family in two months.

Rhekka would be okay, though he hated dearly the thought of not seeing her for so long, she was so beautiful. Lorre was tough, much like her mother, and they would cope together. It was only two months after all.

But Vargur, he was different. He was small and relied so much on Narghul's conversations and love to keep sane. No doubt even his sister would be back to bullying him soon after he left. Furies had little care for the weak. He would have to just get through some tough times. A small sacrifice to save thousands.

When Narghul succeeded in his mission they would make up for all the lost time.

**When.**

* * *

**A rewrite of my rewrite, now with 200% more adorableness.**

Please check my profile for information on the improvements & searching for artists!

**I must thank Dusklightening and Revanhun for beta'ing this story excellently!**


	3. CH2: Frozen

**Rhekka**

:: I'm sorry, I don't know what to tell you Rhek…:: A member of Narghul's hunting pack from four nights ago stated as they finished up their conversation.

:: So he left to come home and never made it…::

:: He'd have made it there in minutes, as I said before, something serious must have happened to delay him for this long. ::

:: And none of your unit could find anything? ::

:: Nothing yet, uhh… to be honest Rhekka they're…:: He paused to take a deep gulp to try force the words out, :: they're searching for a body now. ::

The words made her make a strange noise, like she was about to burst into tears but managed to hold it in, protecting her pride; pride, when all else is lost, is the most important thing to a Night fury.

::We'll th-thanks :: She said, as her voice broke at the end of the sentence, unable to hold back her emotions.

In order to avoid any other embarrassment, she launched herself into the air, wings extended gracefully and quickly blasted away into the distance.

Narghul was missing, dead perhaps. **Dead…** An ice cold sinking feeling developed in her stomach, a fist clenching round her delicate insides.

A small drop of a salty, clear liquid fell from the dragon, soared through the air before it landed in the puffy, white snow; it's heat melting a tiny hole in the surface.

She had to keep her composure; breaking apart in front of the hatchlings would not inspire much strength in them. They had already lost their father; they needed her to be strong… even if she felt like crumbling beside them and bursting into tears.

She reached home quickly and, before she knew it, cries of ::Mom! Mommy!:: erupted from the cave.

:: Did you find him?! :: Vargur eagerly shouted out, skidding to stop on uncontrolled paws.

Without a word, she hesitantly shook her head. The young dragon's head instantly dropped toward the floor. His sister seemed less affected.

:: He's fine :: Lorre began, :: He's the toughest dragon in all of Kholgori, in all of the world! ::

Even this ambitious claim instilled a bit of confidence into Rhekka, he was definitely a very tough dragon, and many of even the biggest Night Furies knew that from experience.

But it didn't cheer Vargur up. She watched as her son waddled off into the darkest corner of the room, head hanging low.

She knew how much Narghul meant to him, she loved him just as much but they just got along so well. This was destroying Vargur day by day, and it wasn't going to get any better soon.

:: Vargur we'll get through this. His pack said they would be back- uhh- sometime this moon cycle ::

He raised his head instantly, his bright green eyes wide open and his tail began flaying back and forth in delight :: What? Really!? ::

Rhekka nodded gently, smiling, and turned to Lorre, who was now the sad one.

She had seen straight through her mother's lies.

Four months passed and no new news arrived.

**Lorre**

While her brother had run off to 'explore' on his own, Lorre took the opportunity to have 'an annoying-brother free time' with her own friends. She felt sorry for her brother but he didn't even try get over their father's death. He just sulked and sulked, he had even stopped talking to Rhekka due to her obvious lie to him many months before. He had been distraught when she told him she had lied.

Just to the south of the forests that marked the northern border of Night Fury territory, she met up with other young dragons: Bhaalgorn, and his brother. He was large for his age, similarly to herself, but he was arrogant and far too ambitious, as if he believed he was destined to become the greatest fighter ever. She would be sure to teach him otherwise. A wicked grin lit her face at the thought.

:: What's funny? :: asked the other dragon that had been staring at her for quite some time.

Cherogork was Bhaalgorn's younger brother, slightly smaller but at least he was decent to be around, unlike a certain sibling of his. He was not all soft though, she knew he could get quite fierce at times. Lorre got along much better with him than Bhaalgorn.

:: Oh, uhhh... I was just thinking about how stupid Vargur acts sometimes, y'know? ::

:: It's pathetic really. If my father died, I'd get over it. No harm done and I'd probably be a better off on my own anyway. :: Bhaalgorn gloated with a horrid and sly grin.

Lorre just gave him an 'Are you completely stupid?' look and glanced back at Cherogork. He definitely had characteristics that were far more admirable than the pig he was related to.

:: Race you to the northern ridge! :: She shouted, desperate to change subject and always loving a bit of competition.

The three dragons dashed off into the snow, knowing that coming last usually ended with having the other two give you a sharp bite to the tail or behind. It was just one of those childish things they did to each other, but even while sprinting for her bottom's sake, Lorre noticed the storm clouds brewing above, and the soft breeze slowly turning into a sinister icy wind.

**Vargur**

It had been extremely cold this winter. The older dragons coped with heat easily; their massive bellies held the fire that their fire holes located in the throat produced were natural heaters, which warmed everything the dragon touched. Hatchlings, however, were much more vulnerable to the cold. They only learnt to use their fire several years into their life. It was seldom but some even died from the cold. Their underdeveloped bodies were unable to warm them, similarly to those stupid two-legged beings.

But Vargur marched on, ignoring the numbness that nipped at his claws and muzzle. He had been caught in the storm, after being determined to rebel against his mother's pleads that he should return home sooner.

In truth he regretted his decision. It was absolutely freezing_._ But he'd never admit that, least of all to his mother.

He moved on through the thick snow, his small legs struggled to keep his body above the surface and, with each step, he found himself lifting his paws higher and higher into the air to plough out of the holes his weight made in the white, sugary powder.

Finally, he reached home, and in the entrance of the cave appearing in front of him, a large female sat there, wearing an extremely worried expression. He could tell she had been sitting there for hours.

Rhekka saw the green glint of his eyes, just like his fathers, and bolted towards him, picking him up with her mouth before hastily returning home and tossing him onto the ground.

:: Can you just stop it?! :: She screamed, :: You had me worried sick! You care only about yourself! ::

Vargur just defiantly looked down at the ground, scraping the small rocks and sand that littered the floor with his claws, unwilling to look her directly in the eye.

The brief pause gave Rhekka the courage to speak her mind.

:: You're not the only one affected by his death… ::

Death.

It was so final. The way she said it… so matter-of-factly, like there was no other option. Just death. Just the end of it all.

Vargur raised his head and willingly looked her directly in the eyes, on the verge of tears. The first time he had shown his mother anything but anger and hatred in months.

Never before had she said Narghul was dead. She always said he was missing or lost…never dead. Perhaps she too hoped he was alive after all this time. But finally all hope was lost. Narghul was dead. His father was dead.

And nobody knew why, or where.

Rhekka saw her child in utter shock and sadness, his eyes pleading for comfort. She picked him up again and placed him at her belly, snuggling up around his tiny frame, warming the freezing dragon in seconds.

Again he turned to look his mother in the eyes. She really did love him after all; she had only lied to him for his own sake, or perhaps to give herself some sort of false hope.

:: I always thought he was the only person who really cared about me… :: He mumbled, still looking into her giant, loving eyes.

They were his first words to her in a long, long time.

* * *

Please check my profile for information on the improvements & searching for artists!

**A special thanks goes to Revanhun and Dusklightening for beta'ing**


	4. CH3: Initiation

**Vargur**

Finally.

Finally the time was here, and for the first time, Vargur could join the skies. They were learning to fly. Twelve dragons, all of them eager but none quite so much as Vargur, lined up in front of today's trainer: Augon. He was a small adult, black as could be and in his prime, but he wasn't bulky like many of the others. Several questioned why a dragon like him would be chosen for flight training, but the elders chose wisely and with reasons that were not to be questioned. Augon was not there by accident.

:: So :: Augon began, a slightly evil tone in his voice to give the little ones a scare :: flight training, huh? You've all be waiting for this I'm sure! ::

The group murmured softly in agreement, put off by his way of speaking to them. He dashed up and around them, poking his head uncomfortably close to theirs, sometimes sniffing, well within their personal space. It was like he was judging their ability right there and then.

Vargur felt there was something special about him though. He was not like many of the others; he could see it in his words, his actions and his mannerism. Though the others seemed frightened, Vargur could tell it was a just scaring act; done purely for his own entertainment, which was something the adults rarely did around here.

:: It's a shame most dragons die in their first attempts to fly :: Augon teased them.

Vargur looked over to see his sister not buying it any more than he did, and to see Bhaalgorn wearing an expression of pure terror. Was Bhaalgorn genuinely terrified of such bold claims that clearly could never be true? It didn't matter; it was great fun seeing his nemesis in the position he himself was often subjected to.

During his search amongst the other youngling's faces, Vargur failed to notice Augon poking his head right beside his own. A great big sniff alerted Vargur to his presence rather quickly. Vargur was alarmed by his strange ways and sharply turned towards the adult dragon.

:: Ahhh, the runt of the litter… :: Augon mocked, but gestured to Vargur in a playful fashion.

The other's laughed, but a roar erupted from the great dragon that shut them up in an instant.

:: I'll have you know I was the 'runt' myself :: Augon did a half smile towards Vargur. :: But I had one thing going for me, speaking of which open your wings, boy! ::

Slowly and unsure of the adults intent he spread his wings as wide as he could. Midnight blue sheets of flesh and scales shone iridescent in the light that were actually quite large for his age, slightly wider than Lorre's and her body was twice his size.

:: An impressive wingspan, little one, what is your name? ::

Still intimidated Vargur croaked out a hardly audible response: :: V-V-Vargur… ::

:: Have I scared you all or something? It was only a few death threats and an insult or two, nothing to be afraid of ::

Vargur couldn't help but crack a smile.

:: There it is! :: Augon exclaimed noticing his humour at least made one person smile, :: Now come on boy, what's your name? ::

:: Vargur :: he said more confidently this time.

:: Oh…, you're Narghul's boy :: He sighed.

To break away from the awkward situation, he decided to start training straight away.

:: Alright boys and girls, you're here to learn how to get your backside out of this freezing snow! ::

He moved into a launching stance, bending his hind legs and raising his wings up for the first time. They were massive; his wingspan was easily twice the length of his body. No wonder he was selected for flight training despite his un-Fury-like manner, there couldn't be a better flier on Kholgori.

With one great push he launched high into the air, his wings throwing a gale at the unsuspecting trainees, who were all thrown about like leaves in a winter breeze.

:: It's all about the launch! :: Augon screamed instructions from above. :: Once you're up here all you need to do is hold your wings out and soar! ::

He swooped back down and landed gracefully, quite unlike his ascent.

:: What are you waiting for? Give it a shot, what's the worst that can happen? Other than, you know, dying. ::

Lorre, ever the self-confident, stepped up.

:: Ah, you look like little Vargur over there, you must be Lorre, I presume? :: Augon questioned.

She nodded.

:: Alright you saw me, bend your back legs, spread your wings and as you jump, be sure to push hard down with your wings. ::

Lorre followed exactly how he had done his launch, even mimicking the little tail wag right before pushing off from the ground.

Vargur watched as his sister made it about three metres up into the air before tumbling, like a stone, head first into the snow, exactly where she had taken off.

:: Victim number one! :: Augon shouted, clearly overjoyed at her fall, while he ran towards her.

He picked her out of the snow and tossed her back up onto her feet.

:: Well, I saw worse. Once :: He teased.

A small, but sharp paw-full of claws smacked him below the chin. Lorre bolted off in anger and embarrassment from the experience. In-front of all her friends she had not only failed her first flight terribly, but had struck their trainer. Shame burned ferociously beneath her scales as she scurried away.

Wide-eyed and totally confused, Augon looked over to the quickly disappearing blue dragon, and then looked over to Vargur for an answer.

:: She's a bit competitive, sir. :: Vargur announced.

:: A bit… I'll have to say I agree with you on that one ::

Two weeks had passed since the start of flight training.

Three dragons marched through the darkness; two were smaller and bluer than the large black dragon that guided them. Night had fallen mere minutes ago but the thick clouds caused an empty blackness to strike the island, coating it in a thick, impenetrable night. Even the normally night-bound dragons struggled to see the very snow beneath their paws.

:: Where are we going! :: The smallest asked for the hundredth time.

Both his mother and sister sighed in unison.

:: You'll know soon enough, Vargur :: Rhekka sternly answered.

Vargur hopped up into the air, attempting to re-enact his 'flying' from training over the several previous days but the strong wind instantly sent him tipping over into a mess of wings and scales. Lorre laughed, mocking her brother's attempts.

:: At least I _can_ fly! :: Vargur defended himself.

It shut her up as Lorre was still desperately struggling at flight. Her size that had benefitted her for so long, now acted against her drastically. It had become a very sensitive issue to his proud and competitive sister.

They drew nearer to their destination. Rhekka was worried for her children's safety over the next few hours but this was a matter she had no control of. The wind began to dissipate and the moon half-appeared amongst the clouds; illuminating the once black ground into a dull grey.

Their arrival seemed to be expected. Several of the largest, most black dragons stood around a large granite circle in the ground. Their dark colours indicating prime adulthood, they were finished with the blue shades of childhood and it prior to the first hints of age appearing in grey on their exteriors. They were intimidating to say the least. But why was his mother taking him to them?

Then Vargur noticed several others of his age as he was. Bhaalgorn and Cherogork were the first he noticed. There seemed to be an identical amount of the adults to hatchlings. He didn't like where this was going.

The younglings were ushered over into a similar line stance they used during flight training. His sister stood beside him, with Cherogork to her side.

Vargur looked for reassurance from his mother, but through the dark and snow she was nowhere to be seen. Only twelve small dragons and twelve big black masses, that blended in scarily well with the night, were left.

The biggest and blackest of the dragons stood forward, he was definitely the leader.

:: Your mothers and fathers are no longer here to protect you, :: His deep voice gushed out, :: it's time for you to fend for yourselves in this world. Each one of you will be taken by one of us to a remote corner of the island, and left there. ::

Vargur gulped.

:: Your only task is to get back here, by yourself, by tomorrow at nightfall :: He announced.

_They must to be joking…_

Another dragon stepped forward, :: Due to the weather and your inexperience with flying many of you will have to walk most of the way, might I remind you this puts you in danger to a variety of predators who will kill you without a second thought. And if you die, you don't pass initiation. :: (Night Fury humour never was very funny)

:: Alright, :: the first dragon said, :: pick a ride. ::

The cluster of small dragons began wandering over, very cautiously, to the line of adults. Bhaalgorn dashed to his father for he was lucky enough to have as his transport, no doubt he'd put him as close as possible to home.

Vargur stood still, not believing they would put them through such a task. He didn't even know how to navigate! None of them did…

:: Psst, runt :: A voice called playfully for Vargur, breaking him from his stunned trance. Through the gloom, the large, winged figure of Augon appeared from behind him.

:: Looks like it's you and me :: He smiled. :: Don't worry, I'll make sure to put you at the northern most tip of Kholgori, the walk will stretch your legs a bit :: Augon winked.

Vargur was lucky to have his older friend as his transport.

:: Where do I- uhhh- hold on? :: Vargur asked.

:: Oh yeah… that's the not-so-fun bit ::

Augon opened his mouth wide. He couldn't be expecting Vargur to…

:: Ghheeht iin. :: Augon slurred, trying to speak with his mouth so open.

…he did.

Vargur sighed deeply as he crawled hesitantly over Augon's bottom jaw and into his mouth, fitting with only a little room to spare. Lorre must have been having a blast of a time.

The lift off was so quick and powerful compared to his own, Vargur felt like his organs had all sunk deep into his tail, and he had to use all his strength to resist regurgitating in Augon's mouth, otherwise he might find himself falling hundreds of metres to his death. Eventually the large dragon levelled off and opened his mouth slightly allowing Vargur to pop his now saliva-covered head out of the dragons jaw.

Vargur spluttered as he wiped the wetness off his head rather ineffectively with an equally moist paw.

:: Enjoying that? :: Augon just managed to speak, even with the tiny head poking out of his mouth.

:: It's wonderful. ::

:: Alright there queen sarcasm, you'll have to go back in. I'm not meant to show you where we are going. ::

Vargur ignored his request but the slowly closing jaw gave him the option of diving out to his death or dealing with the pool of saliva. He chose the pool.

They began descending when Vargur noticed the wetness around him rising up, like gravity had forgotten its purpose. Desperately avoiding a face full of gunge, Vargur pushed up against the wall of Augon's mouth, rather unsuccessfully, as they landed he was dropped out as a ball of liquid and dragon. Disgusting stuff.

:: Euuugh! :: Vargur moaned, shaking to get rid of the fluids.

:: Not much I can do, when all I can think about it a nice juicy fish when I get back, it just makes my mouth water! :: He teased.

:: You're a monster. :: Vargur joked, but Augon's expression changed rather rapidly.

:: Alright Varg, don't mind my jokes, this is serious. Dragons die in initiation. It separates the weak from the strong and you know those Furies, it's all about strength. :: Vargur found his reference to the Night Furies as 'those' rather strange. Like they were different.

:: I'll make it ::

:: I know you will, but if you keep your wits about you. Be sure to avoid the coast, that's where all the nasty beasties that want your blood spend their nights.::

:: Which direction is home? :: Vargur spoke as Augon began taking off, hovering a few metres from Vargur.

:: I'm sorry my friend, that would be cheating :: He smiled.

He took off, and began circling where Vargur stood, each rotation sending him further and further away until his black figure disappeared into the foggy night. Now he was alone for good.

Without anyone to talk to or make noise, the silence shocked him. It was absolutely dead. Neither the croak of a frog, nor the whistle of a cricket could be heard. Only Vargur's own heart was audible now beating deep inside his head. That was his only company now.

As his eyes adjusted from being in the dark mouth of Augon, he began scanning his surrounds.

Augon had been kind enough to leave Vargur atop a mountainside, on a small horizontal crest, giving him a great view of his surroundings. A rocky overhang prevented the snow from landing on top of him. Across from him lay another mountain, a deep valley between them. The mountains were only a few hundred metres high, but they blocked any wind between them, creating a peaceful stillness in the valley. This would allow him to fly without intervention from the commonly powerful eastward winds.

Vargur had been taken into central Kholgori twice before. He knew most mountains were long thin bands of rock that intertwined and always ran from north to south.

Considering the Night Furies lived at the southernmost tip of the island he just had to figure out which direction was south and follow the mountains. Once he reached the southern peninsula he could find home easily enough.

The trouble was… which direction was south? If he went the wrong way he could end up much further than home. How could they just leave him here, abandoned?

Either way if he stayed here he wouldn't do any better than if he travelled north.

Then he remembered an easy way to find his orientation. Kholgori always had Eastward winds, no matter the season. If he could climb the remaining portion of the mountain he would be able to find the direction of the wind, and travel perfectly right of its direction.

Simple enough…in theory.

He poked his small head out from his rocky enclosure, to be greeted with an almost vertical cliff above him; he couldn't climb that in his dreams. So he looked over to the mountainside. There was a large gap, six or seven hundred metres between them. He had never flown that far. But he could tell that it was an easier climb to its summit, certainly manageable with claws.

He had to do it, climbing all the way down to the valley and back up would take hours, hours he vitally needed. He readied himself. Moving to the very back of the crest, he gave himself the biggest run-up possible. His eyes turned to slits, determination filling his body.

This was it. If there was one thing Vargur could do it was fly, and though nobody watched, it was time to prove it to an audience of himself.

As prepared as he could be, he made his run up, quickly reaching the corner of the crest and pushing as high as possible. He allowed gravity to then take him, using it to build up extra speed before he opened his wings. The air caught in them like sails and he soared at a speed never before known to him.

For a short moment Vargur was in paradise, pure and utter paradise. This was where he belonged, in the sky and the clouds, with only the stars to judge him.

It was then and there that Vargur forgot about everything: his father, his troubles, his sadness, his anger. It was all gone; he was alive, really alive!

It seems so insignificant. Most dragons did this every day.

But to Vargur this was more than just a mode of transport, a ticket out of a sticky situation or a way to show off. This was something else, something beautiful. An artwork to be drawn or a story to pen, that's what flying was to him.

As he reached the midpoint between the two strips of mountain, stray winds that pushed over the summits managed to begin knocking him astray from a variety of absurd directions.

The wind began forcing him into a rolling action but he managed to stabilise himself with his tail, barely.

After a minute of his strange balancing act, the farther mountainside began approaching fast, much faster than he had anticipated. Vargur had never been great with the landings as he plummeted face first into the slope, sending a wave of snow falling downward. But he had made it!

After recuperating from the landing, he discovered an easy route up the mountainside and set off, eager to get home as soon as possible.

Using claws and even his teeth he pushed and pulled his small body up the steep slope, his lighter weight making it easier than expected. Finally he reached his destination, the summit, after his travels through landscapes rock and snow.

From here the view was truly epic. Across, on the far side of the mountain he stood on was the ocean. With keen eyes, Vargur could see far into the murky distance.

The coast ran in a straight line parallel to the mountains. Considering Augon's warnings he would do well to avoid it. Forests and smaller hills coursed through the more inland areas where the steep-sided valley turned into flat terrain where the mountains ended.

The wind pushed him toward the ocean, meaning it was the eastern side of the island; the South was to the right of the ocean. He would have to go through the forests.

More confident now than before, Vargur kicked off into the air and plunged down into the valley as soon as possible to get out of the wind. Now free of disturbance yet high enough to build up a lot of speed; coursing through the entire valley in minutes.

As he began to leave the safety of the valley, the wind tossed his tiny body around like paper. It would definitely be safer to walk.

Another crash landing later, this time into a riverbed filled with dirt and rocks, Vargur was on the ground. His left side was covered in a semi-frozen mud and various shrapnel from the landing. _Wonderful_ he thought. But being unable to fly, he was certain Lorre was having a much worse time than him. That brought his spirits up.

He continued on through the marshy landscape where a great river once ran, but now was a messy half frozen swamp. The smell of earth filled the air and with exceptional hearing he could ever so softly hear the patter of waves far to his left. He stumbled upon a corpse of some ancient-looking dragon. It was frozen into the river and showed few signs of rotting. It had a great orange back and sharp claws, but they had clearly been no match for his opponent. It was missing a wing and had several bloody lines down it's side, one of the Night Furies probably did this, trespassers were killed on sight. He continued on though, towards his home.

Deep in thought about his lost father, the forest materialised in an instant in front of him. The greens of the pine trees were always a welcome difference to the strikingly white landscape. Vargur weaved between the tree's trying his hardest to keep in a straight line but there was always another tree standing mockingly in his way.

Several hours later, he was still in the forest. The sky had the beginnings of a blue tint forming, and two birds, disturbed earlier by his presence had woken and begun following Vargur, intrigued by the curious creature. To Vargur, though, it felt like an insult. He was starving and disorientated, and these two pieces of flying meat had the impudence to follow him around. These antics continued on until the sky had become a light azure blue.

He brushed through some thistles of a pine and heard a loud chirp from the birds as they quickly fluttered off, he must frightened them off when the pine branches rebounded back into their original position.

The dark growl behind him told him a different story.

Startled, Vargur spun round but the foliage blocked his view of anything. It was terrifying knowing that whatever beast had growled could jump out at any moment. Vargur turned and began to run instead of waiting for his death. Whatever made that sound did not want him alive.

Heart racing, he ducked and dived between the suspended tree stumps and branches. But he was not outrunning them, footsteps followed him everywhere he went, worse still, these were not the footsteps of one creature, but of many. He reached an exposed clearing in the forest, stark morning light shone brightly through the opening and a fresh snow covered the ground in a perfect circle. This was the best chance Vargur would have at defending himself. He stood in the centre of the clearing; the plates on the back of his head were as low as he could get them, teeth exposed in an act of defence.

Out of the darkness of the forests the wolves appeared. Four of them, as white as the snow he stood on, teeth bared and drooling. Their growls struck fear right into the heart of Vargur. There was no way he could stop them. They were going to kill him.

Torturously, they circled him, still growling deeply. This was terrifying. He was their food, their plaything; it was like they got joy from his fear. He wished they would just kill him and be done with it.

Then he thought of his mother.

Imagine her now, a dead lover and child. Nobody would know how he died. He would get out of this or die trying, for Rhekka. Outsized and outnumbered he had only one option. He had seen the adults do it.

Vargur stood powerfully, breathing in as much as his lungs could intake; before beginning the nightmare inducing cry of a Fury before he strikes. Surprisingly, the wolves stopped where they stood, this shriek was familiar to all who lived on Kholgori, it was a message that you better hide and you better run because the Night Furies are here. But it was coming from this puny dragon. Surely such a tiny beast could not breathe fire like the others?

Vargur breathed out in a great burst…

…of air. Nothing happened.

The Wolves cackled in laughter, they had been afraid of such a pathetic dragon! Enraged, Vargur tried once more, going through the whole process much quicker this time. But it was different now; a heat rose up within his belly, literally. Fuelled by anger and frustration, not willing to let his mother lose another member of the family he breathed out again in a powerful stream, for a second it was only air. Then the entire world caught alight, a bright light illuminating everything nearby. A great burst of uncontrolled purple flame shot out from Vargur's mouth, travelling everywhere, setting all in its path alight.

The fire tore through the two wolves in front of him who bolted off squealing in pain. Some nearby bushes and foliage caught fire and Vargur used the hesitation of the other wolves and his impunity to fire to dive through the flaming bushes and make it away as fast as he could.

Unluckily, hunger overtook common sense, as the remaining two wolves chased desperately after him. Vargur turned to shoot another bolt but nothing came, he was out of energy and now fire was not an option. Still with a significant lead he set off again. Darting and weaving through the landscape, he powered forward but they were catching up to him.

Vargur spotted a tiny hole in the ground, what must have been home to a small fox, but was now abandoned. It was his last chance.

Desperately he tried to squeeze into the entrance but it was just too small, his wings catching on the edges. A fierce growl front right behind him was all the convincing he needed to tear himself into the burrow. An incredibly sharp pain developed in his wing but adrenaline and fear numbed his body as he ignored the pain pushing his body desperately against the furthest wall from the entrance as the wolves head entered the opening. Its teeth snapped millimetres from his body. His drool falling disgustingly onto his stomach, warm and slimy.

It pushed with all its might but the wolf would never fit into the entrance. His accomplice tried, but with the same result. Annoyed they started howling, calling for back up. Surely one of the wolves would be small enough to fit in and kill him. It was only a matter of time.

Or was it? One wolf started squealing in pain. This time he definitely hadn't set him on fire. The unmistakable roar of a Night Fury sent the last one scurrying off.

Vargur just sat where he was in amazement that he was still alive. The head of Lorre popped into the hole.

:: Vargur! :: she screamed, relief coursing through her body. :: I thought they had killed you! ::

:: L- Lorre? :: He said dumbfounded.

:: Come on, I'll help you out. :: She offered.

Vargur stood up and tried to push himself back out, getting stuck halfway through. Lorre helped him out until he eventually squeezed through.

:: Oh, your wing! :: She looked horrified.

He looked over to his wing that was bent at a ludicrous angle. A bright purple viscous liquid seeped from where it joined to his body.

:: How did you find-? ::

:: I heard your cry. I saw you shoot fire Vargur, how can you do that!? ::

:: I… I don't know ::

:: Well you're lucky I was here or you would be someone else's breakfast right now. Speaking of which… :: Her face contorted and Vargur wondered if she was going to pass out. A half-eaten fish slid out of her mouth, slimy and far from fresh, but Vargur didn't need to ask as he gobbled it up in seconds.

:: Thank you… for everything :: Vargur genuinely said, smiling.

:: It's fine, I'm just glad you're alive. But you must promise to show me how you did the fire thing like I've seen the adults do, that was amazing! ::

:: I'll try :: He said unconfidently.

:: Come on, it's not far to home now ::

Vargur walked painfully alongside her, her wing wrapped around his body in support. They walked together now as brother and sister, a newfound respect for each other.

* * *

Please check my profile for information on the improvements & searching for artists!

**As usual A very special thanks goes out to Revanhun and Dusklightening for beta'ing.**


	5. CH4: Flame

**Vargur**

Vargur strolled across the coastline, jumping and ducking under the boulders that blocked his path. For once it was a warm day on Kholgori, much of the winter's snow had melted and the bluish white sky was cloudless for the first time in months.

A light pink scar around his wing marked the injury from all those years ago and, since then, Vargur had grown a lot since initiation. Lorre was still the bigger of the two but at least these days they could talk at eye to eye without Vargur having to crane his neck upwards.

After seventeen winters, Vargur was still only a young adolescent, he still had just under two centuries of aging left until his coat would be as black as the night, he could find a mate and be called an adult Night Fury.

He navigated over a triangular limestone rock to find his following birth-year undergoing their first flight lesson, all lined up and listening intently to their trainer, just as he had done many years ago. Augon was up to his familiar tricks, poking around and being far too close for comfort. The hatchlings looked genuinely concerned for their own lives. In all honesty, he didn't blame them.

After a few minutes of amusement watching the hatchlings trying to fly he walked over to them, greeting his old friend.

::Augon :: He gave a friendly nod in his direction.

:: WHAT DID I- ohh... :: Augon turned around and quickly ate his words, :: Uhhh, hey Vargur, I thought you were... someone else!::

Vargur ignored the random outburst; clearly someone has royally pissed off Augon today.

:: Need any help? :: Vargur asked, quite genuinely.

:: Oh yeah, I forgot how to teach hatchlings how to fly, could you please show me? ::Augon asked back sarcastically.

:: It was just an offer... ::

::I'll tell you what would help me, if you would deal with that stupid dra- :: Augon paused, looking over Vargur's head at something behind him, :: Speak of the devil... :: Augon mumbled under his breath.

Vargur turned to see Bhaalgorn approaching, swooping low over their heads, frightfully close to the hatchlings that were viciously trying to make their wings do their job.

:: Bloody show off, you could whop him any second.::Augon whispered.

Bhaalgorn landed next to them.

:: Whop me at what? :: He asked arrogantly, puffing as if the possibility of his defeat was a laughing matter.

::Pretty much everything, but specifically flying in this case :: Augon butt in, earning a distasteful glare from Bhaalgorn.

:: Look at him, the only thing he isn't terrible at is flying, and even then... :: Bhaalgorn's voice faded away.

:: Alright then, prove that you're so much better than him! ::Augon challenged, on behalf of Vargur.

::Uhhh... I'd rather- :: Vargur tried to cut in, but it seemed Augon had taken over the situation.

:: Do your best and Vargur will top it twice over! ::

::Augon n- :: A second attempt to interject the quickly deteriorating situation failed.

::Pfft, easy. But only if he goes first.::Bhaalgorn accepted the challenge.

:: Fine! :: replied Augon :: Go ahead Varg, show this swine that you're a lot more than just small!::

Vargur just sat there, frowning in confusion, had he not been enjoying the sun and amusement of hatchlings only moments ago? Speaking of which, the trainees were now all lined up; they had heard the entire ordeal. Great. An audience, just what they needed.

:: See, he's not even mature enough to try! :: Bhaalgorn taunted.

With a deep sigh, and a look to Augon that made his friend feel instantly guilty, Vargur took off.

Climbing as fast as possible he was soon a small spec of black in the sky before becoming a barely visible grey smudge, and then he was gone.

:: Well that's not exactly what I meant... :: Augon sighed to himself.

:: See I told y- :: Bhaalgorn was interrupted by an "ooh" from the hatchling audience.

Looking back up the dark blue dot had reappeared, getting bigger very quickly. The dot that now resembled a night fury was spinning with incredible speed, getting bigger and bigger, he was so close now that Bhaalgorn noticed the green of the dragon's eyes, surely he would hit the ground now?

Vargur narrowed his eyes in his concentration, trying to calculate the exact moment when it wouldn't be too late, nor too soon to pull up. His own experiences told him that a move like this is the most impressive when the timing is as exact as possible. _"Steady..."_ he thought _"Steady... NOW!" _Vargur opened his wings wide, tearing through his speed and sending him over the hatchlings' heads, missing them by centimetres, his tail whipped the ground for a second, sending a dramatic spurt of snow into the air.

:: Yeah, top stuff.:: Bhaalgorn said sarcastically, :: Must be tricky, flying straight up and down again.::

:: Then do it yourself, or have you forgotten the deal already? :: This time Vargur spoke for himself.

With some sort of demented sound that was supposed to resemble a "pfft", Bhaalgorn took off to repeat Vargurs' show, being sure to look as powerful as possible. At a much slower pace than his competitor, he became smaller and smaller, before he dived down himself.

This time his dive was quicker than Vargur's, he was heavier and came bolting down crazily fast. He had intended to break off from the dive where Vargur had, but it proved to be a bad idea.

While Augon tackled the hatchlings out of the way, a now screaming Bhaalgorn was on his way down on a speedy descent at a ludicrous angle, wings flapping uselessly as he crash landed, skidding metres under the snow, stopping with a loud crash into a nearby tree stump, sending a great cloud of whiteness into the air. It looked so painful, Vargur was actually concerned that the dragon had killed himself. But, with haste, Bhaalgorn stood right back up shaking his head furiously in an effort to get all the snow out of his ears.

:: I- YOU- BUT... ARGHH :: He roared, fuming while the hatchlings laughed in the background. Sorely embarrassed, Bhaalgorn was behaving even more irrationally than usual. :: This is your fault! :: He shouted, coming up to strike Vargur however Augon soon stood between the two of them.

:: Cool it Bhaal, are you okay? :: He asked innocently, struggling to hold in the urge to join the hatchlings in their laughter.

Bhaalgorn just shook the snow off, pretended to ignore the fits of laughter around him, and drew his claw slowly across his throat in a cutting action, aiming the threat at Vargur.

While the embarrassed dragon ran off, Augon and Vargur looked at each other with worried expressions, unable to hold it any longer they proceeded burst into fits of laughter.

* * *

:: That was way better! :: Vargur said in excitement.

:: Thanks, though it's nothing compared to you.:: Lorre replied in a depressed manner. A small purple flame blew in the leaves of one of the pines she had shot at, meanwhile next to it a blackened stump of what once was a tree remained where Vargur had unleashed his own firepower.

:: Hey, none of the dragons that are even twenty winters older than us can breathe fire, yet you can! You can't possibly be unhappy about that?! ::

This seemed to lift her spirits, :: You're right, I just need to practise a bit more, but I think I'm done for today. :: She gave a small chuckle before leaving, :: Never in a million years did I think I'd be your student. ::

:: And I never thought I'd be teaching you, but here we are!:: He gave her a wave with his tail to say goodbye.

Now alone, Vargur admired his work. Wooden ashes littered the base of the stump he had fired upon, he had to admit it was pretty impressive. Even a fully grown adult wouldn't be disappointed with a result like this, over the past years he had become far more proficient at his skill, though it meant he always had to avoid conversations based around the numerous cases of burnt down trees amongst the Kholgori forests.

The malicious flapping of wings interrupted his thoughts as the large figure of a dragon landed behind him.

:: Vargur! :: It began.

:: What do you want, Bhaalgorn? :: Vargur replied, turning around.

:: Oh you know, I've just been thinking over the past few days- ::

:: Wow that's impressive!:: Vargur cheekily got his two cents in, gaining a scowl from the dragon beside him.

:: I think I found out why your father left.::

:: Bhaalgorn just don- ::

:: It's because you're weak :: he spat and took a step forward:: and small, :: another step, his eyes narrowing in disgust :: a pathetic mongrel who shames everyone!::

Vargur stayed relaxed, he was used to these taunts.

:: So, your father must have left because of you. I know I'd leave a son like you.::

Vargur tensed his muscles, claws digging into the ground, positioning himself to strike.

:: You never even knew my father.::

Bhaalgorn approached Vargur, putting his head right up to the smaller dragon's, using his size to intimidate him.

:: I don't need to know him; any dragon with the right mind would abandon scum like you. ::

Pushing too far, Bhaalgorn had sent Vargur over the edge, nobody spoke about him or his father like this. With a lightning fast swing, he dug into the flesh just below Bhaalgorns jaw, creating three lines of purple ooze on his scaly exterior.

Bhaalgorn gave a chuckle, as if amused by the scenario, and leapt into his own attack. He pounded into Vargur, sending him toppling over. Then used his weight to smash the dragon's head into the blackened tree stump. Slightly dizzy, Vargur sent some more wild swings at Bhaalgorn's belly, drawing more blood. Enraged, Bhaalgorn bit hard into his shoulder, using his weight to hold Vargur's paws from producing any more successful strikes.

After sufficiently tearing into his shoulder, Bhaalgorn slammed his head into the stump a final time with all his weight. Vargur was barely conscious and already a great headache was forming, pulsating through his skull with incredible pain. But he managed to hear the final words of Bhaalgorn, which made his blood boil.

:: This is why you're an abomination to our species. :: He looked at his bloody front, :: Your whole family despises you and it's no different with the rest of us. Do yourself a favour and disappear like your father! ::

With what strength remained Vargur struggled up to all fours and faced his foe for the last time. With a deafening roar known to many as the last sound you ever hear, Vargur launched a great bolt of fire at Bhaalgorn, who for the first time looked genuinely afraid. Committing a fatal mistake, he turned to the flame and opened his mouth to scream but as the flame hit his face, much of it going directly into his open mouth, it was too late. His body collapsed in the snow instantly after the strike.

Unable to stay on his feet, Vargur too collapsed in the snow, as consciousness left him.

* * *

Vargur opened his eyes, the light stung them and for a moment he considering returning to his slumber until the cold wind and pool of melted snow below him reminded him where he was. What he had done.

Like he'd been given an injection of energy, he launched himself onto all fours and searched for his foe but he was nowhere to be seen. Once his eyes eventually adjusted he noticed a messy purple line that made a path through the forest floor. Clearly a very wounded Bhaalgorn had managed to make it away.

Vargur began to run after the path, ignoring the hysterical pain in his left shoulder as he bounced over the rough terrain. At least Bhaalgorn alive, imagine what would happen if he had kill-

Vargur stopped dead in his tracks, the line of blood had abruptly ended at the very not-alive body of Bhaalgorn. Lorre stood facing the opposite direction, trying to cover his body in leaves and snow.

:: Lorre? ::

His sister launched several metres into the air out of fright, dashing behind the nearest rock as soon as she returned to the ground.

:: Seriously! :: She screamed, clearly very stressed.

:: W- What did you do? :: Vargur gestured to the cold body.

:: WHAT DID I DO?! :: Lorre roared in frustration, :: I'm saving your life! They will banish you for this... if- if you're lucky! :: Stress got the better of her, Lorre came out from her rock and lay down at Vargur's side :: I'm not losing you too, not again ::

:: What do we do? :: He said, unsure.

:: I've hid his body... I- It was the only thing I could do... ::

:: It just seems so wrong... ::

:: Wait! He would have hurt you first, you can say it was self-defence, with a mark like that on your head they would have to believe us! He... He did strike first, right? :: She looked pleadingly at him, but his silence said everything. :: No... Vargur... ::

:: He said Dad left because he couldn't stand me as a son! ::

:: That doesn't give you the right to kill him! ::

:: I- I didn't mean to, it just... happened. ::

After a deathly silence she broke their thoughts:

:: We have to get home, or Mom will definitely know we're up to something... ::

:: First lets deal with these wounds... and that trail. :: He said as the two of them began to hide their crimes.

* * *

The two younglings swooped in on their home, innocently entering the cave, calm as could be. Truth be told, there were butterflies of guilt and nervousness flowing through their stomachs, but they had recited this in their heads a thousand times over on their flight home.

:: Where have you two been?! :: Rhekka exclaimed as she saw her children enter.

:: Just practicing flying with Augon. :: Vargur and Lorre replied in unnatural unison, instantly earning suspicion from their mother.

:: O... Kay. :: Rhekka replied slowly, closing her eyes to little more than slits, like she was scanning their brains.

Put off by her suspicion, they both awkwardly and suddenly had things to do.

:: I, um... I'm starving, I'll go find something to eat. :: Vargur all avoided eye to eye contact.

:: Yeah I'm tired. :: Lorre gave a pathetic yawn.

With a final suspicious glare, standing for a strangely long time, Rhekka finally returned to her resting place next to the fire.

She knew they were up to something.

The very next morning they woke to her standing right over them, giving a dead serious look that felt like it might kill them on the spot.

:: Bhaalgorn's missing. :: She said the two words very factually.

:: Wha- Really? :: Vargur said weakly, not entirely awake just yet.

Lorre stood up and stretched her paws as far forward as possible, :: I'm sure he's fine... ::

:: What did you do to him Lorre? :: Rhekka asked sternly, like there was no other explanation.

:: Me? I- It was V- Why do you think it was us? :: Lorre replied. If she was going to accuse them, at least accuse Vargur.

:: Your paws are covered in blood, and Vargur has another dragon growing on his head! ::

While Lorre tightened her grip to the ground, looking guiltily at her feet, Vargur felt the massive lump forming on his head.

She sighed at their silence, :: How badly is he hurt? ::

The lack of replies pushed Rhekka over the edge, she pinned them both to the floor with either of her front paws.

:: What have you done to him?! :: She roared, more out of concern for what might happen to them than for Bhaalgorns welfare.

After several awkward seconds, still neither of the two had spoken a word.

:: Okay then, I'm taking you both to the elders. :: Rhekka finally sighed.

After a worried look between Vargur and Lorre, their mother carried them by their tails outside the cave, their heads bumping every so often on the rocky floor, until she dumped them in the snow and gestured for the two of them to follow her across the snowy plains towards a cave on a large rocky hillside that served as home for many of the older dragons.

Reluctantly, the two younglings were forced in, greeted by a circular stone formation. Currently Bhaalgorn's father, Dhorren, stood in the centre, surrounded on one side by the elders in a semi-circle. They paused their conversation and looked over to the three new guests.

:: Sorry to interrupt, but I believe these two were involved, but they refuse to tell me anything. :: Rhekka began.

:: What makes you think they were involved? :: The elder which sat at the centre of their semi-circle questioned.

She displayed Vargur's wounds to them, :: I think they've had a fight and Bhaalgorn's been scared off or something of the sort. ::

While Bhaalgorn's father gave an arrogant laugh, the Elder's decided the best person to question were the accused figures of Vargur and Lorre.

:: Tell us, hatchlings, is what your mother says true? ::

Rhekka gave a reassuring look to Vargur.

:: S- sort of. :: He squeaked, feeling desperately under pressure from the array of eyes that peered at him.

Rhekka's confidence of good mothering dissipated instantly as she gave him a deathly yet quizzical stare.

:: Sort of? What happened to Bhaalgorn? :: The elder asked, growing impatient.

Vargur was terrified, he tried desperately to back off behind the cover of his mom. Luckily Lorre stepped in.

:: It wasn't his fault, Bhaalgorn has been teasing him for years! ::

:: Lorre, what isn't his fault?! :: The elder tried again for a straight answer.

:: B- bhaalgorn... is... uhh- :: She sighed, she began to feel uncertain as well, :: Bhaalgorn is dead... ::

:: He's what?! :: Bhaalgorn's father cried out, taking a second to gather his thought, :: You killed him! ::

:: It was only in- ::

:: YOU KILLED HIM! :: The old dragon charged at them but was instantly brought down by some of the other adults that served as guards.

Dhorren, unable to release his emotions through revenge, began to whimper like a hatchling on the floor, mumbling his son's name every so often, while he was dragged out from the cave.

Meanwhile, Rhekka's eyes widened in horror, turning to face her children.

:: You... You killed him? :: She pleaded, hoping this was just a prank.

:: He said things about Dad, I just... lost control... ::

She couldn't even reply, shocked by what they had done, and how she had been stupid enough to bring them here.

:: Rhekka, could you join us? :: The elder interrupted her thoughts.

Leaving her children alone she walked close to the small group, trembling, and began their dreaded conversation. Their whispers were just out of earshot.

Vargur watched his mother as they spoke together, her head seemed to stoop lower and lower to the ground with every second, like she had aged a thousand years in the past few minutes.

After quite some time the group parted to their original semi-circle, Rhekka walked back but the colour had left her eyes, her face, unlike her brain, was empty of emotion.

The elder began with their sentences.

:: To confirm... Vargur and Lorre you are both admitting to killing Bhaalgorn? ::

They shook their heads in unison. Earning a great big sigh from the elder and some of her associates, and earning a tear from Rhekka's eye. Vargur watched it drop and splash symmetrically on the floor.

:: I truly am sorry but... as is Dragon law, :: She sighed one final time, :: you are both banished for one century from Southern Kholgori::

:: NO! :: he shouted as loud as he could, gaining the attention he desired. :: I killed Bhaalgorn, I buried his body, I am responsible. Lorre had nothing to do with it ::

:: Is this true Lorre? :: The elder asked. Vargur looked at her with a sternness she had never seen before. She knew what it meant.

:: Y- yes... ::

:: Well then. Vargur, for the murder of a fellow dragon you are now banished for two hundred years, Lorre is free to stay. ::

:: What? No! :: Lorre tried to argue, but the decision had been made.

:: Lorre... :: Vargur whispered, placing a paw upon hers, looking straight into her watery eyes :: Don't. :: Desperation finally took over Lorre, who began to sob. The sight took Vargur completely off-guard and made him feel even worse, he'd never seen his sister cry before.

:: You have till dawn until any Fury South of the Mountains may kill you on sight. :: The elder finalised his fate.

But Vargur didn't hear a word of it, his mind was far away. He left the cavern to find his teary mother outside, huddling close to her for a final time.

:: Vargur... why... :: She whined, :: I did this, if I had not brought you here they never would have known, I didn't know you had... had killed him ::

Silently, Vargur just pressed up close to his mother, feeling the warmth of her belly like it was the only thing good in this world.

:: Don't worry son, :: She changed her tone, understanding that he needed comfort far more than she did. :: you will be back with your family, a grown adult, before you know it. It will go quickly, **I promise** ::

She lied.

* * *

Please check my profile for information on the improvements & I'm searching for artists!

**My sincere thanks goes out to Revanhun and Dusklightening for their great help in writing this story**


	6. CH5: New territory

**Part 2:**

**Captured**

* * *

**Hiccup**

"_He's dead I tell ya!"_

"_But he's breavin'?_"

"_I've 'eard tales of the dead still breathin', apparently it happens if the soul can't leave 'is body_."

"_Nonsense ye fool, who believes that rubbish?_"

"_Look at 'im! Never seen that much blood in me life! He can't be alive._"

"_That's 'cos you live with poor… old… mummy. You'd throw up if you so much as lost a nail_" The traveller mocked his friend.

"water…" Hiccup barely had the energy to mutter the word once more, "Please, water"

"_That ain't English_"

"_Oh really? You figured that out all by yourself did ya?_"

"_Shut it Fitz, he's not lookin' too great_"

"_Figure that out too? Did the puddle of blood give it away?_"

"_I told ya to knock it off! Get 'im a drink or sumfin'._"

"_But I hardly got any for me-self!_"

"_You don't 'ave half the Atlantic pourin' from yer side. Give 'im a drink_"

Hiccup couldn't understand a thing they said, but they sure made him wonder how two men could talk so much and get so little done. Annoyed with what must have been an argument between the two.

"_Here ye go son, you'll be right_"

In an instant Hiccup did not care for the two men's arguments anymore, in 5 minutes they had shown more kind than most of the Englishmen they had met on their travels. As the canteen reached his lips he used what tiny bit of strength he had left to open his mouth wide. The man, clearly a bit thick, managed to water the grass more than give him a drink.

"'_onestly I swear you was dropped on yer head as a baby_." His friend muttered

But the little water that Hiccup managed to drink was enough. His mouth was wet, his throat didn't feel like the desert anymore. That was all he needed, as he sank back into darkness.

* * *

"_The stitching is good, where did you learn this_." A new voice now spoke, unfamiliar to Hiccup. He no longer lay on the ground but found himself on something far more comfortable. They were unaware the boy was listening, even if he couldn't understand.

"_Ehhh… Mum fixed me up all the time when I was a kid, always falling off stuff I was._" Hiccups saviour replied.

"Ah _yes, I had to ask because, no offense but you- uhh, you don't look like the doctor type_."

"_None taken, 'cos I ain't the doctor type, just some basic stitchin' an' bandaging is all I know._"

"_We'll your 'basic stitching' undoubtedly saved this boys life_."

"_Undow- what?"_

"_Undoubtedly? Without a doubt_?"

"_Ahhh_" the man replied, clearly still clueless.

"_We'll I don't know what happened to him but he'd be dead or close to it without the help from you two. Is he your brother, a cousin maybe?_"

"_Brother?_" The second man butted in, "_Don't even know the kid, couldn't leave 'im dying on the side of the road though. I'd never sleep again!_"

Shcoked by their kindness he returned "_Thank you gentlemen, few show such kindness these days._" A gentle nod added to his words.

"_Sure thing, eh… tell the kid we hope he's alright_." The first man said as he exited the door.

"_If he ever decides to wake up that is._" The second man finished.

"Will do, if you're interested return in a week's time, he'll be either dead or awake by then."

The door closed. The Doctor now stared at the boy on his bed trying to figure him out. Long reddish-brown hair, Plump cheeks but a thin frame. Freckles covering his face like a disease. He did not look like a local, especially with the very questionable prosthetic leg that suggested he was quite prone to accidents.

"_How the hell did you manage this_?" he sighed to himself as he turned to his notes.

The boy had broken at least three of his ribs, lost a devastating amount of blood from a great gash across his side and had grazing and bruises riddling his left shoulder and legs, clearly the boy had somehow fallen, or been dragged across very rough terrain, causing the ground to tear at his side. He sighed once more.

The man sunk his face deep into his hands. He barely had the money to bring this poor child back to health, but he had prided himself in always helping those in need, even at his own expense, he would eat less than usual for a week. He would be fine, as he always had been. He never believed in gods or idols. But the idea of karma had been on his mind for a while now.

* * *

Wind flew through Hiccup's hair; he was back on toothless. Soaring low across the ground. Swerving and dodging obstacles in their way. He swore he had seen these surroundings already, he remembered the vibrant red symbols many of the citizens had painted on their homes. He had been here before. But when? The wind stopped but they continued moving. It was perfectly silent, you could have heard a pin drop. They continued to travel low, but it was as if the world was muted, not a sound emitting from anything. A ringing began in his ears, slowly building up in intensity. Louder it became. Louder, louder, louder. Hiccup wondered if it would ever stop, it was unimaginably loud now. It felt like it tore through his very body… Without any knowledge of where it had come from the spear came at him, it smashed into the hook holding him to his dragon deflecting into hiccups side, the force and shock of such a sudden attack knocked him off Toothless, He fell fast. Hands outstretched in front of him, as if they would save him. He tumbled to the ground at a speed that would surely end in his death. Just as he hit the ground the ringing stopped. Silence and blackness engulfed him.

* * *

The boy released a huge breath, and tried to sit up, which he did not succeed at doing. The movement causing him to grunt and moan in pain. His eyes slowly opened, trying to adjust to the shockingly bright light that invaded his very eyes. Viewing the room he now sat in. He was not back on toothless, far from it.

The doctor dropped his quill immediately and turned to the boy who attempted to talk.

"Tannløs" The boy coughed. "tannløs!"

"_You speak Norse…_" The doctor said, confused. Men from the north were never this thin. From his very limited understanding the doctor tried to understand the boys language, it had been a long time since he had spoken the language of the northerners

"Tannløs, tannløs" The boy repeated again. What on earth was he on about…

The Doctor tried and tried to remember,when suddenly it clicked!

"Tann, _your teeth_! _Something's wrong with your teeth_!"

The doctor opened the boy's mouth wide. But the look of absolute confusion mixed with fear told him that it wasn't _his _teeth that were the problem.

"Drage?" The boy tried now. Luckily for him, Drage was a word spoken often by Vikings. It was, after all, what they spent their time killing most of their lives. Dragons.

"No drage, ehh..." The doctor again tried to remember his best Norse possible. "trygg. No drage"

The viking boy shook his head. He pointed to his chest now. "Drage" again he said.

"_A dragon did this to you_?" The doctor asked, not expecting an answer.

Hiccup could tell he had misinterpreted.

"No" Hiccup used the only English word he knew.

_Stay there _the doctor gestured to Hiccup with his hand while he left the room, as if the boy could get out if he tried.

The doctor shortly returned, a stocky woman at his side. The doctor spoke his gibberish to the woman.

"Dr. Eidrich would like to know what happened to you." She translated

"It does not matter, I need to find my dragon" He replied

The woman hesitantly returned his strange sentence to Eidrich.

"Your dragon?" he asked

"I flew here by dragon, from the north. We were shot at and I fell off."

Intrigued the doctor replied: "Surely your dragon would have flown off then"

"You do not understand, my dragon can _only_ fly with me. He needs me, he'll die without me. How long have I been asleep."

"You were first brought here, uhhh- three days ago."

"Three days!?" Hiccup swore he had crashed only hours before.

"You have been out of it since you were brought here."

"I _NEED_ to find my dragon." The translator passed on.

"No, you '_need_' to rest.

"He will DIE without, me. His tail was damaged a long time ago, it's a long story. Without me he's grounded."

"Okay then" he opened the door. "Go find your dragon amongst this city in this state you're in."

Hiccup was caught out, he could barely move in the bed, let alone search for his missing friend. He lay back down, his eyelids feeling heavy once more.

"tannløs" he sighed before falling back to sleep.

_Oh toothless, I am so so sorry_…

* * *

Excuse these chapters if they make no sense, currently I am rewriting this and very soon it will fall in line with previous chapters and the story will begin to make sense once more.


	7. CH6: Lost and Found

"_Some appreciation wouldn't kill you, you know."_ The Doctor said matter-of-factly to the boy who still lay on the bed, eating the horrendously over-cooked meat the man provided. He never was a great cook.

After the translation the boy considered his response for some time. "I am sorry Eldrich, you've been good to me but I cannot stop worrying for my dragon, I caused this, I could never live with myself if he died."

A long pause ensued, the man taken aback by the boy's first almost-kind words.

"_You really like the dragon, huh?_"

"I would give my life for him." Hiccup replied, assuring the man of their relationship.

Another long pause. Hiccup didn't disturb the Doctor, clearly in deep thought.

"_I will find out what I can about Toothless_." The man finally said, while he stood up, preparing to leave, "_but you must promise me one thing in return_."

"Anything"

"_I am running out of money_." He sighed "_Soon I will have to sell this house." _He paused once more, trying to find the words to not offend the boy._ "Dragon's blood is very effective against infections and most diseases, northerners refuse to trade it to us. If I could have only a tiny bit from your dragon, people from miles around would come here. I'd be the only man in the country with any!" _

"I don't know how Toothless will feel about that."

"_It will go to saving innocent people like yourself, who the other doctors refuse to help. Please, if it's all you can do at least try convincing your dragon."_

A nod left the boy after he heard the translation. Eldrich saw it was sincere. That was all he needed to know. He turned and left.

* * *

Vargur thought, after being accepted back to the drove, that things might return to normal, sure a lot would have changed. But the other dragons would accept him now… right?

He was so wrong it bothered him that he had been so stupid. Everywhere he went looks of disgust followed. The only dragons who didn't judge him were the blue ones. Who had been born well after his offense. But their parents did not want him near them. Not after what he did to the last blue dragon he confronted.

::It's like being back in the midlands:: He whimpered to his mother, her age beginning to show, but the return of her son had seemed to have made her younger again. ::Never did I think coming back to my species would make me feel MORE lonely than by myself, with only tree's, mountains and the wind for friends::

::I've told you. Just give it time, do favours for the others, show kindness. They will realise how stupid they are being, over an accident that happened when you were barely larger than an over-fed squirrel::

Vargur smiled inside at the ridiculous comparison. ::I'll do what I can::

They didn't speak for a long time. Vargur just stared over the plains. Deep in thought.

::Do you think dad would understand?::

::so-sorry?:: his mother replied, halfway through a meal.

::Do you think dad would understand, would he know I didn't mean to do what I did::

::Understand? Narghul would have killed, or died trying to kill anyone that wanted to banish you, he was that sort of father::

Another pause, she tried to decide whether to say what was on her mind or not.

::Not to mention he almost killed me when we were children, he only got 30 years though considering he, obviously, failed::

Vargur turned around, clearly in shock. ::What?!, Dad was banished?::

::It was an accident. We were practising some fighting, nothing serious. He managed to bite my neck, he didn't know when enough was enough and suddenly his teeth dug in accidentally, blood everywhere. I lost consciousness very soon after. It took me half a year to heal until I could breathe properly::

She looked up at the ceiling, revealing the semi-circle of light scars that stuck out on the bottom of her neck. Vargur had, ofcourse, noticed these before. But never asked.

::Somehow I loved him even more after he half-killed me::

::I still wish he was here, now more than ever:: Vargur admitted. ::I thought I had grown out of it, had finally gotten over it. But I never had a father… the worst thing is I can't remember his face.::

::He's gone Vargur. One day you will join him, when you see him you will instantly know who it is, and you can make back every single second that was lost. I promise:: Silence filled the cave entrance. She noticed her son trying to hold in his emotions as best as he could.

::Now how about any females you fancy?:: She joked, to break the tension.

::Hilarious, but I don't think a single one has looked at me with anything but fear or disgust since my return::

::Understandable, with a face like yours, times are tough::

::Did you actually just say that…:: The dragon replied. ::You're a great help with the self-confidence you know:: Sarcasm oozing from his very words.

::I try::

* * *

"_Where on earth will she get here?_" Eldrich paced back and forth across the room, unable to tell the boy of his discoveries without a translator.

Perfectly on cue the door opened. "_Ah there you are, thanks for coming on such short notice_."

With the translator here their conversation began.

"_Do you want the good news or the bad news?_"

"The good news?" Hiccup replied, unsure of which he wanted to hear.

"_I've found your dragon_"

Hiccup could almost tell what he had said before the translation was given. His eyes widening in a mixture of excitement and relief. But he felt that the 'bad news' really was going to live up to its name.

"The bad news?"

"_Well its all a bit complicated, he's alive, or at least was alive last night._" Eldrich said, accompanied with smile, trying to ease the boy into the bad news. "_The issue is that…. Well 'Toothless' as you call him, is being used as entertainment. The man I spoke to said when he saw the show last night, the dragon looked weak and desperate for food. He's being severely mistreated and they are barely feeding him so he doesn't have the strength to fight back_."

Hiccup was far from happy at their treatment of Toothless, but at least he was _alive_. A great guilt fell off the boys shoulders, he had been so sure Toothless was dead by now. No matter what stood in his way he would rescue him.

"How guarded is he?"

"I do not know, sadly. But I know roughly where he is. You are mending well and I can tell you tried walking around when I was gone, I've never been one for violence or action but I have an idea Hiccup. If you think you're up to it."

The boy raised an eyebrow.

"Tonight we will get your dragon back."

* * *

I decided we needed an uplifting chapter, I just realised I have written a dragons version of emotion-based Game of Thrones with some death, loss or tradgedy at the end of every chapter, so I aught to bring a little more happiness to the story over the next few chapters at least.

I feel my writing is improving but I'm not the audience, so please review or PM me. I love feedback of any kind.

Once again: Thanks for reading my story.


	8. CH7: Remittance

The night was cold, but nothing Hiccup hadn't felt before. A storm threatened the city from above but the ground was still dry, hopefully it would stay that was. Two figures and their translator walked through the streets, Hiccup desperately trying to forget about the anxiety that now formed in his stomach by focussing on stretching his unused legs.

"_Are you feeling fine?_" the doctor asked, "_we can always do this tomorrow_."

"No, I am okay. Besides we must free Toothless tonight, its been too long."

"_I've told the translator she will have to leave once we get to the theatre, now is your last chance to go over the plan._"

"No I remember, the only issue will be climbing over that wall." Hiccup glanced down to his side, his ribs would definitely not have healed yet, he risked harming them further. "But there is no way we are waiting weeks for my rib's to heal"

"_Even I can agree with that._" The doctor smiled, feeling almost rebellious for doing something without maximum caution. Caution. He had valued it above many things his whole life.

They continued walking through the streets, the last hints of the sun disappearing. Tonight was the only chance Hiccup had to save his friend.

"Thank you Maria." the doctor said, genuinely, as he put a few coins in her hand. "Without you we would have gotten nowhere by now."

She smiled, muttered something to Edlrich in gibberish, and left. The two men, now alone, turned to each other and nodded as they began to walk to the ticket booth.

"DRAGONS, DRAGONS. COME SEE THE MIGHTY BEAST!" A man screamed from outside the gates so loudly it should have been illegal. But its intended purpose had worked well, as crowds gathered at the ticket salesman.

"_By the looks of this line your ribs might heal before we get inside._" The doctor joked. But it was lost to the winds as he looked at the terribly confused boy.

"_Oh, yeah…_" He said to himself, not feeling particularly intelligent.

They waited awkwardly in the long line, neither able to communicate with the other. But finally they reached the salesman.

"_Only two tickets left, you two are real lucky!_" the man said as Eldrich put his money on the poorly crafted table. "Enjoy." He said, more like a robot than a man.

"Thanks" Eldrich replied half-heartedly.

They walked through the large archway. Seats piled around in a semicircle. The two found their seat at the back and the show soon started.

"Today, you will get to see something few around these parts have the privilege of seeing." A man started as he walked onto the stage. "Dragons have lived, and terrorised those in the north. Killed thousands. But WE, through might and cunning, have captured one of the beasts." Hiccup almost laughed at the statement. "Behold… the Night Fury!" He exclaimed. Gasps and shocks erupted from the crowd as a huge man, pulling it with a chain leash, brought the black dragon on stage.

Hiccup winced, Toothless looked absolutely terrible. He had to be half dragged around. The dragon's leg looked damaged, buckling slightly with every step. Cuts and dirt littered his right side, where he must have fallen. Night Furies healed quickly most of the time, but Toothless had clearly not been fed anything, he couldn't heal. After only just more than a week the dragon visibly looked thinner and weaker. A large leather strap ran around his head, preventing him from opening his mouth.

Hiccup covered his face throughout the show. He knew if Toothless saw him the dragon would go crazy, likely getting himself killed. The minutes dragged on, Hiccup was enraged with their treatment of his friend. Throughout the show they poked him and prodded him. Actors pretended to be scared for their lives in front of the beast. But Hiccup knew the only beasts here were his own species. Eldrich put a hand on his shoulder, sensing the boy's discomfort.

The show began to draw to a close, only a few minutes remaining. As planned the two looked at each other, and Eldrich nodded, a planned symbol for Hiccup to move. The boy got up and, as subtly as he could, left the theatre. He walked around the back, where the staging area was, a relatively large area of grass, encompassed by a wall barely two metres high. Hiccup checked the narrow street he now stood in, it was clear. He found an area of the wall in poor maintenance, using a hole as leverage for his foot he pulled himself up and over, dropping silently, and fortunately without any pain in his chest, to the floor.

Eldrich had healed many people in this area before; accidents were all too common among the ambitious gymnasts and actors alike. The area was just as he had described. Cages of all shapes and sizes lined the wall to his left, all filled with animals and birds of many kinds, except one cage, the biggest cage. As told he walked slowly and stealthily to a small gap between a hut and the outer wall, senses heightened. Searching for anyone who might find the boy lurking where he shouldn't. Guided by moonlight he got down to the ground, and wiggled himself into the tiny gap, barely fitting. Dirt, Insects and Cobwebs alike seemed to enjoy this spot very much, usually he wouldn't have put himself within 50 feet of a spiders, another extremely manly and viking-like trait of his. But it was for Toothless, he'd do anything to have him back.

The show finished soon after, a mass of people began talking. Hiccup could hear it from where he lay, invisible in the shadows. A few actors started pouring into the back, many walked to the large house on the opposite side of the area, likely so they could change, leave and forget about their jobs until they had to return the next day. Last of all came the giant man, dragging Toothless with him to the cage Hiccup noticed before. The dragon stood outside, refusing to go in. But a massive kick to his wounded leg caused the dragon to groan loudly, clearly in pain, as he slowly entered the cage. Classic Toothless, too stubborn for his own good, much like the boy rescuing him.

"Vortaarsh get over here!" A wealthy looking man shouted from across the grass area.

"Yes, sir." The man replied with a voice far too squeaky for a person of his size.

He tied the leash to the side of the cage, and began placing several thick pins along holes in the cage's door. It might hold in a creature, but anyone outside could get in.

"Vortaarsh hurry up! I don't pay you so you can take half an hour to lock a door!"

"Yes sir, sorry sir." The man replied like a programmed drone. Not even bothering with the final pin as he left towards his master.

Hiccup heard Toothless give out a mighty, dragon-version of a sigh, loud as anything. As much as he wanted to save his friend now he had to wait. He'd get himself captured, maybe even killed, and do nothing for his dragon by rushing in now. He had to stay where he was. At least their locking system was basic. It was meant for keeping what was inside in, not considering someone trying to break in.

"_Psst_" A voice called from over the wall. Hiccup looked up to see the doctor looking right at him, in their arranged spot. The doctor gave him a 'thumbs up' to check everything was all right, he returned it. The head disappeared and the footsteps got quieter and quieter. They probably wouldn't see each other again for days, or if things went wrong, ever.

Over an hour passed, Hiccup had to constantly adjust himself to prevent a cramp in the tiny space he lay. But finally everyone left, only two guards remained, occasionally walking into the back and taking a look around. Their job was to protect the doorway; as long as Hiccup wasn't too loud they would be fine. After a final check the boy now began crawling forward. Moving slowly and silently, for once he had time on his side. He made it to the dragon's cage, where Toothless lay snoring heavily. Hiccup stuck a hand through the bars, rubbing behind the dragon's neck softly.

An eye opened, and then another. Toothless turned and looked at Hiccup, the plates behind his head raised to the sky. He couldn't believe it, he was sure Hiccup had died. Suddenly he was on his feet, struggling to turn in the cage that was too small for him, his head reached the bar's and a ferocious attack of licking began. Toothless could barely control the grunt and groans he let out, relief was pouring through the dragon.

"Alright alright, keep it down. We're not out of here yet." Hiccup whispered.

Slowly, one-by-one he pulled out each pin, laying them gently on the grass, checking behind him constantly. He was about to pull out the last one when he heard a man shout.

"_What do you think you're doing_!"

Hiccup couldn't understand but heard the hostility in the words, as he dropped flat onto the ground, fear flowing from his body. He heard metal land on the ground with a loud clank, emphasised by the quietness before it.

"_Sorry, just lookin' about._" A second man called, putting back the prop that had been used that night.

"_We'll I'm not here to 'look about', get your arse over here._"

"_Yeah yeah, you old grump_." He mumbled.

"_What did you say?!_"

"_uhhh- nothin'._" The offender replied, as he ran back to the entrance.

They were safe. Hiccup's heard left his stomach and he began on the last pin now. It took ages to open the door, it seemed every movement produced a giant squeak from the ancient door. Hiccup knew if he opened it too fast the guards would hear. Meanwhile Toothless was of no help, desperate to get outside from his prison he kept whining and licking the boy. But finally they were out. Toothless could barely contain himself. Powered by an energy stored deep within himself.

"Where's the saddle?"

Toothless looked over to the hut next to where he had sat waiting before. Hiccup slowly approached and walked inside. It was dark but hiccup caught a few glints of metal, He pulled the saddle and tailpiece out, it was broken to shreds. That was fine. Their plan assumed it was broken, or had been lost. As he pulled the last bit out it tugged on some of the swords resting on top of it. Hiccup tried but failed to stop the wall of metal tumbling down on the ground, the ratting and clanging of metal on metal cut into the silence like a knife. Now they had to move, Hiccup gathered the saddle and dived onto Toothless.

The two guards emerged from the backstage entrance to the theatre, startled by the activity behind them. It was too late. They didn't even notice the two black figures that darted across the rooves in the distance.

* * *

A week passed. The doctor sat at his desk, eating mouldy bread. He knew of the health risks but it was all he had left. A knock at the door startled him; it would be the first in several days. He walked over and opened it slightly, sticking his head through the opening. Nobody. He looked down and noticed a large ceramic jar sitting on the ground, Filled with a purple, oozing liquid.

Hiccup had fulfilled his part of the deal.

* * *

So Hiccup has repaid the man in liquid gold, he earned it.

Not much to say, just a chapter that (as promised) Didn't have anyone die or face mass emotional trauma in it! A miracle!

I took a long time to write this but it's 4AM and even after a half-hearted proof read their may be a mistake here or their.

Thanks for reading my story.


	9. CH8: A dream, and a dream

**Sub-headings!**

A few people seem to be having a little trouble understanding some things or parts of the story, So I'll be adding segment names in **bold** above each part that will outline who's perspective that bit of the story is from. It should make things a little easier to understand, considering I love jumping from character to character so often.

Happy reading.

* * *

**Hiccup and Toothless**

For three weeks Hiccup and Toothless had stayed in a valley to recuperate, easily within a few minutes flying distance from the outskirts of the city. They both had to rest. Toothless' lack of food resulted in his body literally eating away at any fat or muscle he had for energy, luckily it had been a short period of time, but dragons still had huge appetites. The foodless week had devastated his body. But time passed, Hiccups ribs healed and he eventually removed the stitching in his side. It was still tender but he would manage. Now, hundreds of kilometres north from where they were captured, the two figures slept. Hiccup lay next to the dragon he loved so dearly, dreaming while in a deep slumber.

_Hiccup woke up in a wasteland, little but dunes surrounded him for as far as the eye could see. A strong wind threw sand across the barren surface, Hiccup tried to protect his eyes from it but quickly found he didn't need to. It passed straight through him. This wasn't real. There was no way._

_A mighty roar erupted close by, but sounds in this place were warped. It sounded like it came from a million kilometres away and as if it were made right in his ear at the same time. This place was strange. The boy waddled through the sand, his bare feet sinking deep into the surface with each step. Slowly he moved through the desert towards the sound of the roar. A black outline began to appear in the distance, Hiccup didn't need to guess who it was. The dragon was turning around, looking all over the place as if searching for something, or someone._

"_Toothless!" Hiccup called out, "c'mere buddy!"_

_::Hiccup!:: The dragon replied, turning and bolting towards the human._

_Hiccup continued walking for a moment then stopped dead still realising what he had just heard, staring his dragon in the eyes as he approached._

"_Did you just… uh-"_

_::What's he on about?:: The voice mumbled again from Toothless. But his mouth didn't open._

"_I- I can hear you."_

_Great he has gone mad now. The dragon thought._

_::You can hear me now?:: The dragon said quizically, testing in-case the human was being serious._

"_YES!" Hiccup shouted, beginning to understand how much this would change everything._

_Toothless looked entirely started by the response. ::You could here me talking to myself back then?:: He said._

"_Yes, Toothless" His eyes widened, "We can actually communicate."_

_::Well that's nice and all but this is just a dream, sadly:: His head dropping low to the ground after the initial excitement._

"_You... you're dreaming too?"_

_::What do you mean too?::_

"_I was so sure I was in a dream."_

_::You're just a figment of my imagination, look I could knock you about and nothing would happen:: The dragon said as he bashed the boy hard with his tail. He went flying to the ground landing hard. A small cut from the metal on his tail burned._

"_Arghh! What in the name of Odin are you doing?"_

_::You don't exist, stop pretending to::_

"_Look Toothless, maybe we aren't dreaming."_

_::Right:: He replied sarcastically._

_Sensing the sarcasm the boy replied "Alright then, in the morning-"_

_The ground shuddered beneath them, the sand slowly started moving, but got faster and faster and faster. From beneath their very feet the sand began falling, being pulled into a wormhole below. It was too loud for them to hear each other anymore as they were sucked into the black void._

They both woke at the exact same time. They instantly turned to each other. From the look in Toothless' eyes Hiccup could tell that had been much more that just a dream. But now, as usual, neither could speak to the other

"Well that just happened." He said, falling again to his side and promptly falling asleep once more. It was morning; they had been asleep for hours. But neither Hiccup nor the Black creature beside him felt any more rested than when they had first closed their eyes the night before.

* * *

**Vargur**

She was beautiful. A smaller body but a massive wingspan, similar to the dragon that stared at her from a distance, as she fought playfully with her sister. A small scar ran across her eye, some might say it was unappealing but Vargur found it all the more attractive. His reputation had gone way up in the past weeks. He had managed to save a smaller dragon who, similarly to him as a child, had tried to fly a bit early and had ended up almost drowning in the water at the foot of the cliffs that surrounded the southern part of the island. After bringing the blue dragon back many saw it as a counter to his past, he had killed a dragon long ago, but now he had saved one. The family of Bhaalgorn, including his sister's mate (Vargur almost shivered at the thought), still believed him as pathetic as ever, spreading rumours that Vargur had put the dragon I the water just to save him minutes later and regain his reputation. They would never forgive him. He didn't care.

::Nyx huh? We'll you're not going to get anywhere by staring at her from here::

Vargur jumped up and spun around, the voice had scared the hell out of him.

::Lorre could you seriously not do that, and I wasn't staring at her… I was… Thinking::

::Thinking eh? Thinking about how you want to get her alone and-::

::Can we not have this conversation!::

::Sorry, but I'm just saying, you might want to get to know her now. I'm surprised she has not found a male already::

::I told you I'm not interested in her:: Vargur replied hastefully.

::Sure, and I'm actually an overgrown seal with wings::

::What are you three spring's old?::

::I'm not the one who sits alone staring at pretty dragons, doing nothing about it but 'thinking':: She provoked.

Vargur groaned ::Go away…::

His sister let out a triumphant puff and promptly left.

::She's right you know:: His mother now said.

::Wha- what, now you too! How long have you been there!::

::Long enough. You must listen to your sister though. Soon you will have only that rock you love so much as your companion for life::

::You two are real hilarious tonight, and that rock is really comfortable by the way:: He said, but only silence followed.

His mother stared him down, for minutes he sat looking out over the plains in silence, aware of her presence. She just stared at him. It annoyed him beyond belief.

::FINE! Have it your way!:: Vargur shouted as he got up and walked to the fields where the beautiful dragon still played.

His mother smiled. Her job was done here.

* * *

I wrote this eating skittles. Love is in the air people! (Oh and vargur's story has a little love in it now too I suppose :P)

This chapter was a little short but I had an essay to write before-hand and its already 1am.

Sadly tomorrow won't be much better. It may or may not be my birthday and I have a few things planned. But hey I'm that much of a loner I'll probably end up in bed writing a story for half my night anyway :)

and please (if you feel the need) throw a review up or PM me if you have any feedback or questions. I Feed off your confusion and opinions! *insert evil laughter?*

As always, thanks for reading my story.

[Ps. I haven't mentioned this before but please tell me if you find any spelling mistakes. I generally do these quite late and mistakes happen. Some words even slip through my proof reading. I.e when I replaced "way" with "was" in my last chapter :s]


	10. CH9: A Voice Within

After A really wonderful birthday I wanted to write more than anything, I got home pretty late but threw this pre-planned story together, hope its decent :S. Please correct my spelling because I expect it to be particularly horrendous tonight, I'm barely awake.

* * *

**Vargur**

Dragons too felt anxiety, the black hole that seems to form in your stomach, pulling in everything near it. Making you almost feel sick. Rarely had Vargur felt such emotions. He felt like he'd spent a lifetime feeling only sad, lost and guilty. Lately things had been picking up but now, in this very moment, that he started feeling really nervous. A strange sensation building in his stomach that he had rarely felt before. _It was all a mental thing right? She's just another dragon after all… _But she wasn't just any other dragon. She was _the_ dragon. Vargur was extremely appreciative of the other dragons that played, ate and trained nearby. He could blend in if he lost his nerve, which he came very close to doing.

She turned and looked straight at him, barely a glance, but a look all the same as she turned back to her sister. Vargur froze and his mind raced at the thousands miles per hour. Thinking of every possible thing he could say, and imagining her reply. _Did she like him? Did she even know him? Why did she look? Why is this driving me INSANE?! _ The dragon could barely contain his composure, never before had he felt like this.

::Are you alright?:: A voice emitted. But sounds all seemed warped to him, as if they were being said from a thousand miles away.

::Hello…:: Nyx said. NYX SAID. She was talking to him!

::Uhhh- ohhh well:: He was entirely lost for words. ::Just uhh finding myself a- well some…. Uhhh- food! Yeah I've been starving all day y'know?::

::Well I don't exactly trade food here if that's what you're staring at me for:: She replied, a plate on the back of her head raised and another lowered in an expression of confusion.

::Staring? I wasn't I ju-::

::Spare me the stories, you act like you've never spoken to another dragon before…::

::Well none like you:: He stated, barely aware of what he was saying.

::That was true romance, please don't seduce me any further I might just fall in love::

::Re- really?::

::We're you dropped on your head as a child?:: she asked, sounding legitimately inquisitive.

::No I fell all by myself::

She chuckled, finally something hadn't gone horrifically wrong.

::Tell you what, if you lose that stupid stuttering and talk like a normal dragon:: Nyx started, ::Then you can join me and my sister, we're about to see who can get to Daemons Cove and back the fastest::

::But sis…:: Her slightly bluer sister whined.

::Don't worry, he's probably so slow we'll have forgotten about him before we get halfway::

::I like a challenge:: Vargur stated, now removing himself from the idiotic trance he had been in.

::In that case…:: They both lowered their legs, ready to push up hard and get an early lead, ::GO!::

::huuuh?:: Vargur was caught far off guard, not expecting the flight so soon.

They both dived upwards with incredible speed. They were fast, but if there was one thing Vargur knew about himself… it was that he was faster. Now lagging behind Vargur now pushed upward, quickly pulling himself higher and higher with great flaps of his enormous wings, tongue dangling from the side of his mouth. Unlike the other two he had gone almost straight upward while they went directly for the cove, which was several minutes away from here.

The two females expected little challenge, especially with their head start, but soon a black rocket soared from above. Using gravity to his advantage Vargur had now picked up incredible speed. In a flash of black he flew past the other two desperately flapping dragons without even a single flap from his own wings. He was gliding, saving as much energy as possible and still going significantly faster than the others. Soon he was out of sight. The females looked at each other, realising they had been defeated before it even started. After several minutes they had finally returned. Vargur lay on the snowy grass, pretending to sleep out of boredom for their slowness.

::Impressive, if we had actually been trying:: She said, trying to justify her loss.

::Never seen a face of such defeat on a dragon who 'wasn't even trying':: he provoked.

::I Wasn't!::

::Up for round two then?:: Vargur challenged.

She had no words. For once lost on what she could say. _He was very fast. S_he couldn't deny it. Now feeling slight tingles of anxiety in her own belly.

* * *

**Hiccup and Toothless**

Once more in their prison of sand, the two friends conversed in the very short time they had, discussing anything and everything they could possibly fit in. It had been over a fortnight. Every night they had the same dream, somehow connected together. Every night they talked, during the only time they could, trying to figure out what these dreams meant. Every night the sands began sinking deep into the earth as they both fell into the depths of the Earth. Every night they got closer and closer to the spec of light at the end of the fall.

Tonight was different. They were sure they would finally reach the light at the bottom, the previous night they had come so close, and they could almost touch the blindingly bright light that shone below.

Once again the sands began sinking.

"This is it Toothless."

::Tonight we reach the bottom:: The dragon hesitated momentarily as the sand below him slowly started to fall away. ::Do you really believe what you said earlier? That when we do we'd be granted a 'power' of some sort?::

"I don't know Toothless, I was guessing I suppose, tonight we find out." He shouted as they both began plummeting towards the light. Even though he knew it was a dream Hiccup shielded himself from the light with his arms, expecting to hit solid ground…

The two figures fell into the light, it absorbed them. It was all around, a blinding white. But soon the colour began to change. A deep red spread across the world they were in until there was nothing else left. Hiccup and Toothless were suspended in mid-air, nothing but the single, featureless colour surrounded them from all sides.

Suddenly, as if an electrical storm had begun, a shock was sent between the two males. It burnt at their torso's, tearing into the very fabric of their existence. The shocks and sparks flew between them. Pain beyond belief tore through the boy, until the pain became too much to bear and he, like his dragon, slowly fell into darkness.

Once again they woke up at the same time. Instantly Hiccup smelt burning, flesh… burning. He looked at his body, astonished. His clothes had been half burnt away, black and red marks littered his chest.

"What in Odin's name just happened, I was expecting something but… not that."

He looked over to his dragon, as he rolled over, groaning. He was clearly in pain too.

::Superpowers, huh… what an idiot:: Toothless said.

Hiccup heard.

His entire face felt like it dropped to the floor.

"Toothless, try speaking to me." The boy said in awe, not believing what was happening to them.

::Were out of the dream world silly!:: Toothless said to nobody, thinking the words only reached his own ears.

"Toothless…" He said slowly, he rubbed his eyes in misbelief.

::Here we go again… what now?::

"Toothless I can hear you again."

::Yo- you can?:: The dragon replied, clearly shocked as well.

Hiccup stood up, ignoring his burns. "Toothless we can talk! We aren't dreaming!"

::How is this possible!:: The dragon replied, ::We must be dreaming again::

"Don't you understand Toothless? That WAS the power we were given, I was right! We can talk now! This changes everything!"

::Wow… we can actually talk. This would make us far more effective::

"We can talk… wow… we can talk…"

::We figured that out already::

Hiccup burst into laughter. Happiness radiated from his body, the things they could achieve now… They had no limits to what they could do, or where they could go.

The two sat back in a joyful rest, they turned to each other.

They had so much to talk about that they never could have before. It was time for Hiccup to catch up on years without hearing a word from the friend he would give his life for in the blink of an eye.

* * *

Well that was the first sort of particularly 'supernatural' event in the story. You'll learn of its origins and meaning in the future. I prefer a more realistic storyline (I know there's dragons but its more likely for them to exist than for a supernatural electric storm to allow two different species to communicate)

I might do some heavy editing of this tomorrow as I was half-asleep during the ending. Please PM or review, as I always say I love feedback of any kind as long as its not just 'flaming'.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart thank you for reading _my_ story.


	11. CH10: Eleven Skulls

First I have a 'little' announcement. I read through the entire of _what was left behind _from beginning to end. I just had to get a feel for where it was heading. And although I'm happy with most of the plot I just get the sense that I'm trying to rush everything. It seems like I'm going through plot at light speed and I need to just take it slow and start really getting some more descriptions and details about this world Hiccup, Vargur and Toothless live in and drastically improve on my poor dialogue scenes (of which there are many). It takes a lot longer to write than to read it, so what feels like an age when written can turn out to be a quick section of your story.

Basically I'm going to be reducing my rate of posts. Expect one every few days or one per week, but it may vary. I'm going to start putting a lot more time into each chapter and the development of the plot and characters. I want to write a story that is wholesome and detailed, with natural dialogue. I want to **engage **the reader more than I am currently. So expect longer chapters with a slower rate of posting, and (hopefully) some really great quality writing that you'll love to read more than what I have now.

Lastly I am considering doing some art based on _what was left behind_, in-fact I drew a map of the island (Kholgori) that the Night Furies live on when I first thought of this story. Sadly other than that I stopped drawing for other interests quite a while ago; we'll see what happens and if I can get back into it [I was never a god of art, don't expect any Picasso works anytime soon ;)].

**Tl:dr I am going to post bigger, better chapters, but less often.**

For now here's chapter 11 to keep you occupied

* * *

**Vargur**

Love, for male dragons, never was about picking roses, serenading, chocolates or romantic dinners. Not that the Night Furies had much access to the majority of that. Their relationships were far simpler, yet so much more complex at the same time. First you had to prove yourself against the female. Win a fight, a race or a challenge of any kind, and you're done. Easy.

After that you had to get them to like you, sure it could be tricky but Vargur had no issues after his initial stupidity around the female, after meeting on the plains many weeks before. They now clearly loved each other.

Then came the hard part, prove yourself to their parents. This often meant flying far to the hives of other species. Killing one of their leaders and bringing back a skull. The other dragons feared Night Furies and rightfully so. The flight was usually more of an annoyance than the killing.

But then there were Nyx's parents; Vargur had flown far to the east. Killed a Zippelback and returned bearing two skulls. He had layed them at her parents feet but they simply looked for a second, and turned to walk off. A particularly disheartening event to the poor dragon.

So now he found himself in a _lovely_ position, nothing could _EVER_ go wrong now. The hydra looked at him. All nine heads in-fact turned to the black dragon that dared to step onto the shores of the lake in which it lived.

It was well known that Zor Lake possessed such a beast but seeing it, seeing it for real had quite a different effect than hearing the stories and myth's. But Vargur would show no weakness or fear. He was here for one thing, nine things actually, and would rather die than return without them.

"You dare step on my shores? Best you be gone dragon. Your kind are usually smart enough to not pass through here"

::I am not _my kind_. I am here for your head::

"Are you now? Luckily I will have eight more to spill your blood."

::ALL of your heads::

The hydra seemed to perform some sort of mutilated chuckle, "Shame, your peers could have used your lack of intelligence as a guide for the young ones on how **not** to live. It seems they will have to use your bones as a tutorial instead."

::Harsh words from a dead monster::

"Brave words for a pile of bones."

::You like bones do you? I'll show you how many you had inside of you all along!::

The dragon fired a bolt of flaming hot mess at the Hydra, tearing through one of its necks drawing blood and leaving a black mark on the neck besides it. The hydra screeched loudly and terrifyingly as it dropped into the water to sooth the painful burn. For too long it seemed it had been underwater.

::Coward!:: Vargur shouted eventually.

And almost instantly nine heads raised from the waters, anger burning in every single one of its eyes. Several heads flew towards the dragon, teeth bared. Vargur took off, missing the last head by only a few centimetre's as he climbed into the fog above.

"_NOW_ who is the coward!" The Hydra screamed

A screaming roar began from above, gaining in volume by the second; the dragon came flying down at tremendous speed releasing another bolt of flame, using his momentum to propel the fire into a devastating strike. It tore straight through the previously damaged neck that was easily the thickness of Vargur's entire body. The Hydra shrieked in pain but 8 more sets of teeth came at Vargur while he swooped low after the attack.

This time, although the deadly teeth missed again, Vargur got caught between two of its tremendously large necks, the huge force winding him instantly and throwing him hard into the ground. But quickly he flipped back up, looking over the waters, waiting for the hydra to make its next move.

But then he noticed something.

Ten heads now stared at him, two slightly less bulky than the others. Vargur began to realise what he had got himself into.

"I was so fed up with nine, I had always preferred round numbers." The Hydra stated menacingly as it began a deep hissing in an attempt to frighten Vargur, "I can not let you live now dragon, you chose your fight, you will die in your fight."

::I'll kill one thousand heads if I must!::

"Then you will have two thousand more, all trying to spill your blood!"

The heads charged once more at him, but Vargur was incredibly agile. Dodging nine of the heads and sinking his teeth deep into the tenth he tore out the back of its spine. Once more the dragon shrieked, but this time louder than before. More desperate than before. The head fell. It and the neck holding it landed on the shore, unable to move.

Something about this was different, when he cut the head clean off it could move what length of the neck remained but now the lifeless body part lay on the ground, useless to its master. It's head had been paralysed.

"I _WILL_ kill you, its only a matter of time." The Hydra said, more angry than ever.

Suddenly another ferocious attack began. This time Vargur miscalculated his bite and got another neck crashing into him, causing a severe pain in his front right leg. After recovering from the blow he looked at his wound, blood leaded out and down his leg from the joint.

"AHH blood, the first to be spilled!"

Yet another attack came, Vargur had been prepared and he avoided the heads entirely, flying out of their immediate range. But when he flew too far away the fog became too much. He couldn't see the lake if he went too far. He _HAD_ to battle the dragon within range of its heads or he would be blind.

He dove down, landing on the shore just within distance of the heads, but far enough that he would be able to easily move before they reached him. So of course that was when the voice called.

::Vargur?! Is that you?::

::Mother?:: Vargur shouted as he searched around him while keeping a steady eye on the menacing Hydra that waited for an opportune moment to attack. Then he saw his mother emerge from the fog.

"Your mother? I'd love another fool's death on my hands."

::Who is that?:: His mother said, she was too far to see the Hydra from here, only hear him.

::Leave, now! You are not supposed to be here!::

::I heard your roar, I was flying overhead…:: She replied, coming closer and closer to her son.

::Never mind me. Please, please just leave!::

"No you must stay. I insisssst." The Hydra intervened,

His mother now saw the beast, nine heads staring towards them, one lying dead on the shore. Her eyes widened and the plated behind her head fell straight down.

::What are you doing!::

::I have to kill it!::

::Are you insane!::

::I've paralysed one of its heads already::

::You have to cut off every single head at the same time to kill it! You'll kill yourself Vargur, nobody can kill a Hydra::

The Hydra saw its chance; All heads swooped in at once.

::MOVE:: Vargur shouted, dodging the heads with plenty space. But he turned around.

The anger quickly left his body. He knew what was going to happen.

The female dragon, significantly older than him, and far less agile, had the first head reach her before she could fly off. A tooth sunk deep into her tail, pinning her down. Preventing her from any movement.

::NO!:: Vargur pleaded. But it was too late.

Two heads plunged down upon the old dragon. Many razor sharp teeth tore straight through the soft, squishy flesh of the dragon. Instantly killing her.

::NO!:: Vargur landed on the heads that owned the teeth which now sunk into his mother. He tore at their spines, a strong jaw easily penetrating the flesh and crushing the large bone as he had done with the tenth head before.

::YOU WILL DIE IF IT IS THE LAST THING I DO!:: Vargur screamed, rage filling every crevice in his body once more.

"A shame she had to die, she did nothing."

::You can apologise when you join her!::

He continued with his technique in an extraordinary rage, tearing through the spines of the neck like a blade through air. Disabling it from fighting back but not causing it to regrow two more heads.

_You have to cut off every single head at the same time to kill it_

Vargur painfully remembered the last words his mother had said to him. She had died trying to stop his madness; he would not leave until it was dead. He would either join her or have his revenge. Her death could not be in vein.

The Hydra now knew well of his tactics. With only five heads left she sent four after the dragon. Once more he pounced on the back of the fourth neck, tearing out the spinal cord. But the fifth head now dove down at him. He noticed it all too late when he began to fly off and, just like his mother, had a tooth sink straight through his tail. He reached around and managed to bite out the back of its neck too before he and the two heads fell hard onto the shore. Instantly one of the remaining three flew at him, giving him little time, ready to tear through him.

He pulled away from the paralysed head that still had its tooth sunk deep into his tail. With all his might the tail tore away from the tooth seconds before the head crashed into the moist soil he had been standing on only a second ago, giving itself concussion. Which gave Vargur the time to eliminate an eighth head.

"You are a fool. Your mother is dead; No matter how many of my heads you kill more will eventually return! You have lost this day." The last of two non-paralysed heads spoke.

::You will pay for what you have done…:: Vargur said in a lower, softer tone than before.

He dived for the remaining necks, easily tearing one of them to shreds with his powerful jaw.

One head remained ::You are the fool, and you are about to die::

In one last, epic charge the two collided with tremendous force, another large tooth sunk into Vargur's back-end. But he was long enough to reach under the chin and behind the Hydra's head. Disabling the final head in a mighty crush of his jaw.

They dropped. The tooth leaving Vargur's back-end and falling to the floor along with the giant head. It was not dead yet though. He had one final and mighty task to perform.

Slowly Vargur dragged each and every head into a line, all too aware of the pains that tore through his leg, tail and hindquarters. He had to tear the heads from his mother's dead body, it caused his blood to boil once more at the paralysed monster before him, and he had to do it, had to see his mother that way if he wanted to finally kill the beast that had slayed her.

In a final act, using all the energy that remained in the dragons battle-hardened frame, he built up a fire inside. Now with an anger beyond anything else the he had felt before, a similar feeling to when he had killed Bhaalgorn. He shot an enormous flaming bolt at the line of necks. The flames' brightness penetrating through the thick fog, able to be seen from far all around him. It was so powerful it tore straight through the ten necks instantly. Cutting all of them at once. Finally killing the beast that had once been thought immortal.

Vargur had proved himself, but with a sacrifice beyond measure.

* * *

One by one, while they slept, he brought each head to the entrance of the cave that belonged to Nyx's parents. Travelling several kilometres back and forth each time.

It began to rain as he brought the final head to their cave, a rare weather condition in these lands.

Now that he finished. Vargur left his glorious work. He walked across the plains, while all the dragons in their caves around him were deep in sleep. His head low to the ground.

_If this is not enough for her parents... _He thought. Imagining their expression when they woke the next morning. But it was not enough to cheer him up.

His mother had unnecessarily died from his attempt to gain the favour of the parents of his love.

Vargur continued limping on through the rain. An emotion all too familiar to him began to settle in once more.


	12. CH11: Arrival

A/N: The first instalment of my new writing regime. I really hope you enjoy it.

Please excuse my absolutely awful attempts at creating multiple Viking accents through text. British I can do (sort of), Aussie I can do, even South African (Afrikaans!) I can do. But this Viking stuff renders me useless, going only from the stories I've read before, and some of the dialogue from the HTTYD books (Man it's been forever since I read them).

* * *

The entire drove had felt a deep sorrow for Vargur and Lorre, it was as if the emotion clung to the very air itself. They were adults but most Furies lost their parents to age, centuries after childhood. They had lost both within the first quarter of their lives. Some dragons even felt a deep admiration for Vargur. Even the family of Bhaalgorn could not help but see the sheer power and persistence of the dragon, even if he had once used it on their own family. But now he had killed a Hydra, one of the beasts that had highly restricted their growth in the South. They could be angry at him, not anymore. He was every bit his father, a great fighter at a young age.

Vargur had quickly got over the loss of his mother. Not because he had become heartless, but because a feint voice in his head kept telling him she did not loathe his actions, he had become every bit the dragon she could hope to have as a child. She had died trying to prevent him from getting himself killed, but had inadvertently given him a true reason to slay the several headed serpent that lurked in the lake of the mountain. In a strange way she had been the key to killing the serpent of Zor Lake.

It had now been several months since the incident. Vargur lay in his favourite spot at the cave entrance facing over the ocean. Nyx sat by his side, resting her head on his back, her gentle snores soothing his mind. Her parents had literally thrown her at him the day following finding his achievement outside of their cave. More than happy to have their daughter couple with a dragon that would bring them 10 heads of a Hydra just for their approval. They had originally sided with the Bhaalgorn family, close friends of theirs, and were not fond of Vargur. Nyx had mentioned how over-protective they had been when she said she had been hanging out with him. But now they understood she was in relatively good paws.

She woke up, raising her plates in a cute expression, even for an adult. Vargur couldn't help but feel lucky. Female dragons were very picky but they had gotten along together since day one. Their competitive attitudes intertwined rather than conflicted.

After a few nudges to his side with gentle purring. She swiftly walked back into the cave where she wrapped her warm body around the four dark blue ovals that sat in a pile at the farthest corner of the cave. A few months later, during the spring they would crack open, revealing the tiny reptiles that lived within. Vargur promised himself he would never ever bring them to face the childhood he had been through. He would always be there. Always.

* * *

**Quick A/N: **I must thank to Ferdoos for the basic concept of this next segment (i.e the time on Berk)

**Hiccup and Toothless**

Since their remarkable connection, an unnatural force that allowed the two to communicate, the two friends had spent much of their time doing just that. Talking. For days and days to no end, as if it was the last day of their lives, as they flew North towards the home of the Viking boy.

Hiccup discovered all about the unpleasant times his companion had spent under the control of the Red Death. Spending decades trapped in a fiery hot mountain. Flying only to attack two-legged creatures he knew very little about, and without a thought killing them all the same.

He told Hiccup all about his time in the cove. The painful crash and many weeks of recovery, how he had felt when at first the two met, and how stupid he thought the boy was. But now he could not imagine life without him. It was a strange relationship between a lost dragon and a boy that never belonged.

But there was one question that always caused the dragon to change topics, to suddenly dive so the mighty sound of wind drowned out the curiosity of the boy or to mention how tired he was and that they needed to sleep.

The truth was that Toothless did not want to tell his friend he knew nothing of his life before his capture. He did not know where he came from. He did even know his own name. It hurt the dragon to know he would likely never know.

Hiccup figured it was a sensitive issue. He left it alone for now, but someday soon they would have to talk about it. The dragon must have had a life outside of killing, before his capture.

Little did the two know of what happened hundreds of kilometres north.

After over a fortnight of travel they finally reached home. Home for one of them anyway.

It was early winter in Berk, They had left during late spring earlier that year. Returning months later than Hiccup had promised the other Vikings.

The island started to appear through the clouds, fires lighting up the houses and warming their inhabitants on the frosty night. So much could have changed in the months they were gone but Hiccup was glad to see several dragons amongst the houses.

At least the Vikings still accepted dragons; Hiccup worried in his absence the 'Viking way' might cause a new war between the two species. They were stubborn folk after all, he himself being a shining example.

They approached with speed, passing over the docks while Toothless turned his wings forward, reducing their speed to nothing in an instant, as they landed softly on the ground. He did not want to disturb anyone or cause a sleepy crowd to gather.

They slowly waddled over to Hiccup's very own home, the low orange glow from inside welcoming him. For some strange reason flowers and gifts decorated the outside of the home as if it were a gravestone, it was all very un-Viking-like. He opened the door quietly and tip-toed inside, T

"I'll go upstairs quick then I'll come back for you, I wonder if your bed is still here?" He whispered.

::It better be or I'm using yours::

"Huh?" Hiccup whispered once more.

::I said it better be or-::

"Not you dimwit. shhh"

The 'huh' had been caused when Hiccup reached the top of the stairs. His father sat on his bed, his face deeply buried in his hands.

"Dad?"

The giant of a man turned to look at the stairs. A look of disbelief smothered his face and his aged red eyes. Had be been… _crying_?

"Hicc- Hiccup? Yer alive, Yer actually alive!" He jumped up from his seat, hugging the boy. Half crushing him to death.

Taking a small time to recover from what must have been deep internal injury from his father's gesture Hiccup spoke "Why wouldn't I be fine? What happened?"

"Yah' said ye'd be back before autumn!" Stoic said in an angry manner.

"I said it could also be months later before I returned." Hiccup retaliated

Softly now, trying to explain his sadness he began: "A tradesman came by ship yesterday, he said he'd seen of one yer' black devil's in his trips south. He even spoke to the owner of the theatre he was captured in."

"And?"

"He said he'd shot the rider, who the dragon had apparently '_mind-controlled_' into ridin' it. 'spared him from a slow death' were his words." A pause stopped him from continuing on too much further.

"We knew it could only be you." He finished.

Slowly Hiccup pulled up his clothing to reveal the gaping scar that lined his side.

"We'll the man didn't lie." Hiccup said with a grin.

"This ain't funny Hiccup, had a funeral this mornin' we had half the village in tears! I had lost me only son, I had lost you Hiccup. Going to look like right git's now."

A wild guilt built up in Hiccup now, realising how selfish he had been.

"Gobber didn't take it very well and Astrid well…"

"Yeah?" Hiccup urged him on.

"She threw axes at thing's. Takin' out her anger on everything the blade touched."

"Great." Hiccup said sarcastically.

"I'd avoid her if she's armed, might jus' actually kill ya." He began grinning too.

The two just stared at each other, studying one another's faces, their grin's slowly growing and growing until they both burst into raucous laughter. Hiccup received another crushing hug from his father. He definitely preferred being missed than he did being the disappointment of the whole tribe.

"I'm so glad you're home." The beast of a man stated. As if it diminished his manliness to admit it.

They just lay there side-by-side, until their eyes shut and they slept. Father and son again.

Toothless looked upon the whole scenario. Extremely happy that at least one of them had found the place he belonged. He left Hiccup to himself as he found the boy's own bed and soon slept deeply on the fur's that lined it, dreaming of a life before the Red Death.

The following morning had been pretty unpleasant. All these silly humans had been disturbing the dragon who was trying to rest after weeks of flying for every waking second they had. All of them wanted to know if the boy really had returned? If Hiccup was alive. Some even accused Stoic of playing a practical joke to get the whole village into tears and that he had known Hiccup was fine all along. _Silly Humans_.

But Hiccup had woken well before the disturbance at home and was already getting along with Gobber like they had never missed a day. They spoke of Hiccup's time with the doctor while he began creating a new tail for Toothless. Their old one had been pretty messed up when they crashed but the long flight back home had really torn it to shreds. Another week and they would have been grounded without a functional tail.

"Eh here ye go." Gobber said as he plunged a system of metals and fabric on the table. It was exactly identical to the current system Hiccup had. It just looked really good, and very operational."

"Ye left one of your past tail designs behind. I spen' days on this baby. I was goin' to surprise ye when yeh returned, but it's been sittin' in the back for months now…" Gobber said with a sigh.

"This is brilliant Gobber! Your finest axes don't even look this good!, you must have spent a lot of time getting this all perfect?" Hiccup questioned as he moved and tested the parts of the new tail. Gobber only shrugged his shoulders. The quality was like nothing he could have ever done in only a few days, it would have taken weeks to make it this perfect. Even for Gobber.

A Golden-blue tailfin rested at the end, which would replace Toothless' lost aileron. In a design that was something Hiccup never thought Gobber was capable of. It was beautiful.

"You did this?" Hiccup asked.

"I tried to get my creative side goin'. Your own father asked if I liked boy Vikings now." Gobber burst into laugher. "Can ye imagine me prancin' round like a little fairy with a dress on!"

Hiccup couldn't help but grin at the thought. He tried to supress it but soon they were both in fits of laughter at the thought.

"I don't think that's-" Hiccup had to pause to fit in another round of laughter "I don't think that's exactly what happens when." More laughter, "When you like other Viking men."

The laughter died down. "I'd feel sorry for anyone who witnessed that mess. I'd have to shave me legs too!"

More grinning between the two.

Hiccup regained his composure and gave Gobber some genuine words of appreciation: "I can't thank you enough, this will save me loads of time and should last for ages, I don't even think a fall would damage this thing." Hiccup gestured to the steering system he held in his hands.

"Any time son, I- uhh- I'm glad yer back." He smiled. As the boy nodded and exited, heading straight home to find his dragon…

…only quite soon to find he must have become some sort of child prodigy around Berk. A crowd flew to him as he reached viewing range of his home.

"What happen'd?"

"Ye alright there kid?"

"Where'd ye go?"

"Where's me left sock?"

"Whats that in yer hands?"

"Enough!" Stoic bellowed, his overpowering voice silencing the crowd in an instant, "You'll find the answers you're looking for soon enough. Get back to work."

The crowd slowly dispersed, some members of it tilting helmets in respect to the boy who had changed their lives.

"Thanks… dad."

"The fools act like sheep, being led by one other based on rumors and lies!"

"Well I am here, so it wasn't exactly lies."

Stoic, as always, just ignored the logical statement. And began heading towards the docks.

"I think yer dragon- eh Toothless is waiting upstairs!" He shouted out while walking off in the distance.

Hiccup ran up the staircase, expecting to see the dragon in his bed. But instead he saw a large ball of furs, that once had been on his bed, lying in a heap in the corner of the room.

::Are they gone?:: The ball whinged.

"They couldn't have been that bad." Hiccup replied confidently.

Toothless' head slowly emerged from the pile in the most hilarious expression, a fox hide lying over half his head ::You have _no_ idea::

"Oh come on you little baby!" Hiccup joked.

::I'm telling you, just a few of you can make so much noise its disorientating. There were thousands of them. Thousands!::

"There's barely over a hundred people in the whole village." A matter-of-fact reply came.

::Yeah but… They're pretty fat. Its all the same isn't it?::

Hiccup chuckled. "You're looking pretty on the big side yourself." He teased.

The proud dragon could only reply with an overflowing ego ::Yes I thought my muscles were quite large too. Thanks for noticing::

"You're welcome fatty."

::If these furs were not so comfortable I'd kill you right now::

"I'm sure, you look about as deadly as a kitten right now."

Toothless shot a tiny bolt of fire that whizzed past the boy's head. He hurried to put out the small fire that began on the wall.

::At least give me the credit of looking like a fire breathing kitten::

They laughed together, and began play-fighting in what ultimately would and did end as the destruction of anything fragile in the room.

"Oh yeah!" Hiccup suddenly remembered during their antics.

He got up and ran downstairs, made some odd noises and came back up carrying a large present of metal and fabrics.

Hiccup dumped it down next to the dragon and began laying it out along his side.

::Shiny:: Toothless stated, almost transfixed at the golden-blue replacement aileron. Sniffing carefully along the length of it. ::You didn't make this?::

"Gobber made it. He must have spent countless hours on it."

::Its slightly different to yours, lighter::

"That's not a problem is it?"

::No its just… different::

"If things never stopped being different you would still be killing Vikings and I'd still be the village runt." Hiccup smiled.

This calmed Toothless, he understood. It actually felt extremely comfortable, just lighter. ::We'll try it out tomorrow, I like the tail::

"I do too, it's like Gobber released his inner woman." Hiccup said, causing Toothless to grunt in laughter.

The attack from behind was extremely sudden. Astrid had been extremely silent. Not even Toothless had heard her until it was too late.

She dive tackled him, slamming him to the ground painfully.

"That's for not coming back!..."

She now took her notorious axe from her back, dropping the handle right into the soft flesh of Hiccup's stomach.

"…and that's for everything else!"

Hiccup rolled and groaned on the floor, clutching his stomach with his hands.

"I hate that line." He winced.

Toothless ran over to her like an excited dog, a large sloppy tongue '_cleaning_' the left side of her face.

"Eugh… yeah… I _missed_ you too Toothless."

"I'm sure you did." Hiccup whinged as he crawled back up from the floor. As soon as he was on his feet a fist slammed into his stomach.

"Aaaaargh. What on- on Earth is wrong with you!" He moaned.

"Seven months. SEVEN MONTHS and we don't hear a single word from you! Besides for some crazy trader who said you and Toothless had been '_captured_'?"

"We'll I'm sorry, the dragon-express mailing company has not been started just yet." He said. "and we _**were**_ captured." Just like to his father his showed the gash in his side.

Astrid showed several of her own scars in return. As if competing with the amount of wounds they could both obtain. She won.

"I prefer the kiss when you say 'and that's for everything else' to be honest." Hiccup broke the silence of their wound competition.

"Oh you do?!" She smiled unnaturally, "My axe loves kissing."

"You've gone mental."

"MENTAL!?" She shouted, chasing him around the room. Managing to tackle the speedy boy after Toothless tripped him over with a paw.

"Argh, You're a great team-blehg." He said as her foot squished his face into the floor."

Toothless gloated.

"Yeah I'm sure you're real proud." He whinged

::Hey at least I got the first female to touch you in months::

"This isn't what I had in- ARGH!" She kicked him in the side.

"You told him you wanted to touch a female?"

"Wha-? No no no."

::Yes, yes, yes::

"Shut up."

::Got it was awful hearing your strange human desires::

"I am a teenage boy. You got yourself into this mess."

"Huh?" Astrid replied, locking his arms behind his back. Face still pressed against the floor.

"Ohhhh- ummm." He said awkwardly. "Me and Toothless can kind of talk now…"

"He can talk to you?" She said fascinated.

"Yes, but I think only I can hear him."

"Can you teach Stormfly?"

"Oh yeah storm- Argh! I'M TRYING TO HELP YOU HERE!" He shouted, a knee digging into his back.

"Can you?!"

"I- I don't know. It just sort of happened. After a whole series of these strange, strange dreams we woke up one morning and well…" he paused, "I could hear him."

"Deep."

"You asked." He replied.

Finally she let go of him and began walking over to the stairs, content that he had been sufficiently punished for leaving her alone.

Now she was serious again, in a soft almost loving voice, totally unlike her treatment before, she said: "I missed you Hiccup. Please don't leave again."

He gave her a smile as she continued walking down. A sense of sadness growing within him. He knew he would have to leave again. He could not stay here. He called it his home but it was merely a welcoming hotel. It was the sky where he belonged. In the sky, beyond the clouds, beyond the reaches of mankind.

"C'mon Toothless."

::But I'm tired:: he whinged like a child::

"We're going to test your new tail."

* * *

It was lightning quick. The improved pivots and the sheer lightness of the contraption made position changes effortless. For Toothless he could barely tell he had the thing on. This was a new level of freedom. They had always been together and relied upon each other but now it was instinct, Hiccup didn't have to think about which position he changed to. It just happened, the fluidity of their flight brought pure joy to the two figures of the night as wind flew through their wings and hair at speeds they had rarely reached before.

They flew over and under any boulder or arch they could find, performing tricks that amazed the non-existent audience.

::This is amazing! I can't believe I didn't like it when you first put it on!::

Hiccup gave a triumphant laugh, the sheer sound of the wind passing his ears drowned out everything, the smell of the salty ocean below them, the great towers of rock that climbed high-from the water.

Hiccup felt sorry for all the people who didn't get this experience. But it was him who had been brave enough. It was Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third who had not only trained a dragon, but also befriended one. Truly befriended one.

He was in pure bliss when the black figure, similar to the one he currently rode smashed into him. He was instantly torn from the dragon. The iron clip that had once held him to Toothless bent like paper at the sheer might of the creature that now held him. He was carried a few metres and dropped to the ground, on the edge of the island. He got up and turned around instantly. The second Night Fury, name unknown to Hiccup, leapt onto him and pinned him down to the ground.

His mouth opened wide, much like Toothless' had those many years ago when he found him caught and tied up in the forest, but this time the dragon had a much harsher intent than merely a loud roar. His face was so close that Hiccup could see inside the dragon's mouth. Behind the fleshy pink tongue an orange glow built up at the back of the dragons throat. He would kill Hiccup in an instant. Hiccup cringed, the end of his life only a second away.

Toothless threw his whole weight into the attacker, causing his shot to miss by a hair length but the heat still burnt at Hiccup's face. The two dragons stood off, circling one another, growling deeply and with 'kill' written in their eyes.

::Stand down:: The attacker said, Hiccup could hear him too, but it was far more feint than Toothless usually sounded. He hadn't connected to him like he had connected to Toothless, but their similarities meant he could hear him, just with much more difficulty.

Then all of a sudden dragon stopped circling. As if he remembered he had left a fire on inside his home. His plates lifting high, his face contorted with confusion all of a sudden. Somewhat of a contrast the hostility shown only seconds before.

He muttered one word questioningly. It was a name, a question and the key to Toothless' memories buried deep into one, simple, noun.

::Narghul?::

Toothless stopped too. He knew that name. Not like a name you forget with old age but the kind that sticks to the back of your head when you hear it. So familiar yet so distant. The one that keeps you awake at night, making you roll over and over. as if using your body to flip the pages of your memory. Searching for the answers.

Toothless came out of his small trance ::Leave, now:: he said angry that the dragon caused such confusion within him.

::I am only trying to save you from this-::

::LEAVE, NOW!::

::But Narghul:: there it was again, the word, ::surely yo-::

::Are you mentally challenged? Do I need to repeat myself?::

::N-no, sorry sir:: He launched of the ground and took off, clearly alarmed by the situation, but he also seemed suddenly too scared to face him.

_Sir? nobody calls me sir? What was that about?_

"What in the good god's-" Hiccup began.

::Shut it:: Toothless snapped. Hiccup knew when to listen to his dragon, and obeyed. Focussing more on the burn on his face.

They returned home but Hiccup could sense something had disturbed his friend greatly_. Narghul_. What was so special about that? It sounded like a place, what place could affect him so much? They returned home, they were in for a long night.

Hiccup was awake throughout the night, worried sick for Toothless. His friend wriggled and twisted beside him in the darkness. Making one hell of a racket. The dragon slept but it was not a sleep of rest, it was deeply troubled. Nightmares and Dreams alike haunted Toothless, as slowly memories drifted back into his mind. The dreams content wasn't dark or terrifying. But everything he dreamt of seemed to be in a dark black, as if barely recoverable by his brain. One word had been the key to it all. _Narghul_…

Where did he remember that name?

Who did it belong to?

Was it a name?

His slumber that night consisted only of tiny snippets of flashbacks.

A vast grassland coated in snow.

A beautiful dragon by his side.

Soaring high above snow-covered pine forests.

A cave, with an exit that faced over the giant blue-white semi-frozen ocean.

And the final vision:

Two ovals. Dark blue in colour. Resting together.

None of it made any sense. It was his past, undoubtedly. But… It didn't feel like his own. It felt like he tapped into the memories of someone else. It had been a night he wanted to forget very quickly, but knew he couldn't. He continued to drift into the spiralling blackness.

* * *

"Toothless? Are you okay bud?"

::Huh? Where am I?::

"You're in my house, sort of."

::Sort of?:: toothless groaned.

"Take a look around."

Toothless glanced around, eyes adjusting to the morning light. He lay out in the open snow. A huge hole gaping in the side of Hiccup's house. Oddly enough it was kind of in the shape of a Night Fury.

::Eugh… What happened::

"You wouldn't wake up, You kept shivering and shaking uncontrollably."

::Me?::

"Yeah bud, eventually you rolled over so quickly and ferociously that just… Poof went our wall."

Toothless groaned, as if he hadn't slept in a month. He got up and stood on his paws. Slowly the memories of the night before oozed back into his mind.

::We have to go North::

"What!? Why?" Hiccup was startled by the sudden statement.

::I think I had a female counter-part once. Before I was captured::

"You were married?"

::Dragons don't partake in foolishness such as marriage!::

"But essentially you were?"

::Yes, but not married, marriage is idiotic::

"And this female you were _not-married_ to is North of here?::

::I Think my entire kind lives North of here::

"But how can you be sure? They were only dreams Toothless."

::I know it sounds stupid, but these were not just coincidental dreams, we have to go Hiccup:: He nagged, ::Please::

"Argh…. You have stuck by me all this time, I would follow you around the world if I had to." Hiccup sighed. A long pause ensued, as they walked back inside to the, now holy, house.

::I wonder what I was like before:: Toothless said suddenly, now curling back up on the floor.

"Probably every bit the arrogant one with the big appetite."

::You're looking quite appealing at the moment::

"Yeah with all _this_ muscle I'm practically a dragon buffet." He gestured to his arms.

::I wonder if she still loves me…::

"She might if you were married but clearly that is not how drag- "

::Honestly… Why do you exist…::

"To torment your very existence." He joked, "C'mon. You have helped me for years my friend. Tonight Toothless. Tonight it is time to begin the journey to your drove."

"Where is it by the way?"

::I have no idea::

"Lovely"

* * *

_**Meanwhile**_

**Vargur**

::I still don't know his name::

::I've told you a million times! You can fight but you have the memory of a stone:: Lorre replied.

::Well, actually, stones can preserve inf-::

::Don't care Vargur!:: She cut his rant short, ::Considering you killed is brother:: (She got a harsh look for that), ::you ought to at least know his name…:: She sighed and paused for a bit, ::It's Gorlem you moron::

::Gorlem hey?, sounds like a delightful chap::

::Vargur, he's having hard enough of a time forgiving you about Bhaalgorn. Please! Just be nice to him and our hatchlings. For once brother…::

::Fine:: He mumbled in return.

They entered his sisters home. It was similar to his own, just far more narrow and constricted, he had to duck just to get through the entrance. He was greeted by a larger cavern area. Gorlem sat at the back, not pleased with Vargur but certainly looked more comfortable around him than he would have a few months ago.

::Vargur:: He nodded.

::Gorlem:: A similarly heartless reply came.

::Sorry about your mother:: The dragon tried to get a conversation going.

::Nothing to be sorry for::

::Alright you two:: Lorre cut in, ::try not be too excited to see each other::

Vargur came up close to his sister and whispered ::Why am I here again?::

::To make amends, you haven't met my children before either, its been weeks…::

::Yeah yeah, where are they?::

::Goodness knows, I told them to be back soon::

A cry erupted from outside. Desperate but excited.

::Vargur!:: Nyx shrieked from the entrance.

::Uhhh… yes?!::

::They're hatching!::

Vargur's eyes widened beyond belief, like he'd been shot or discovered the meaning of life. A wild sensation began building in his stomach.

::S-sorry sis I'll have to catch up another time:: He turned to Gorlem and gave a simple nod, all he needed to say.

::Good luck!:: His sister called out as he ran to Nyx. They both bolted across the plains, eager to watch their children hatch.

::Well this is far less exciting than I expected:: Vargur admitted. Almost twenty minutes after they had returned home.

::Shush you:: Nyx replied, staring in amazement at the dark blue eggs.

Vargur wasn't sure what he expected. But the dreams he had of the egg's cracking open dramatically and a Night Fury pouring out, breathing a horrific blue flame and standing in a dominative stance were quickly diminished when it took fifteen minutes for a tiny, pink head to pop out from the side of the oval.

::Do we, y'know? Help them?::

::My mother said do nothing, it feels wrong but I think she's right, just let nature do its thing:: Nyx replied

::Well they're sure taking their time:: He yawned.

::You're nice:: She said sarcastically.

Three more heads popped out, but over an hour later and they all seemed perfectly content to just have their faces sticking out of the eggs, all breathing heavily.

::They're so tiny and adorable:: Nyx said softly::

::Only a mother could say that, they're ugly as crap:: Vargur replied in contrast to her kind words.

::I know:: She admitted, ::I expected more than pink blobs::

::They get their blue quite quickly, I remember we were all blue only a few days after hatching::

The first egg began shaking slightly. Nyx gasped happily.

::It's happening!::

The egg cracked open quite dramatically to Vargur's surprise. A blue-purple liquid pouring out, finally revealing the entirety of the pink blob that was their child. The process repeated three more times.

::Four hatchlings! For all of them to hatch… Vargur, Its amazing!:: She exclaimed.

It was true, more often than not eggs did not hatch. Many parents had only one or two children, but four was almost unheard of.

::They're still so ugly::

::Stop being grumpy and say hello!::

He edged forward, the four pink masses wandered around aimlessly; they wouldn't be able to see for a few hours. One tried to give a roar that sounded a lot more like a mouse squeaking.

::Now to name them…:: Nyx started, they would be there for a long time.

* * *

**Two weeks later**

Vargur's paws sprung with each step in the soft, white ground. Four beautiful and tiny Night Furies clinging to his back, now a rich blue in colour and with far more noticeable features.

::What's that?:: Zhyll, the first to hatch, asked, ::Over there to the left::

::Uhhh,:: Vargur looked over. A massive crowd was forming a short distance away, ::I'm not sure, lets go check it out::

As he moved closer he noticed more and more dragons turning up, making a lot of noise. They all seemed to surround one point, but what was it?

::What's happening?:: Vargur shouted, trying to get attention from some of the crowd.

A sudden silence fell, _all_ the dragons turned to look at him.

::What are you all here for?:: He repeated, under pressure from all the eyes that decided to fall on him.

Slowly the crowd began moving, giving a Vargur a direct sight at what stood in the middle.

A Night fury stood there. Dark in colour. One aileron was discoloured and he had something hanging on his back. This dragons head tilted, a plate raised and a plate lowered, an expression of confusion, but he saw a sort of searching within the dragons eyes.

Of course, Vargur knew who this was the second he saw him. He looked different but Vargur knew.

::Who's that dad?:: A tiny voice called from his back.

Vargur sighed deeply, ::That…:: He paused, ::Is your grandfather::

* * *

A/N: So it took me 23,000 words but we've finally gone through what I generally planned as 'act I' (amazing name, i know). Of course there's a lot to still write about but I actually need to start a new chapter to chapter plan.

How did you guys like the new style? I was so busy, I really couldn't get the quantity not the detailedness I wanted but I felt it was a good improvement. PM/review what you think! [also any spelling mistakes you might find please!]

Thanks for waiting, hope it wasn't a disappointment,

As always thanks for reading _What was Left Behind _:)


	13. CH12: Aversion

**A/N:** Another longish a/n sorry

Firstly sorry about the long time between posts, I've been extremely busy this week. Secondly it's not going to be getting much better :( Luckily I only mean you wont be seeing brand new chapters, but we'll still be working.

A new beta'er (I can make words up) will be working with me to improve all my current chapters drastically, some are even being entirely rewritten. But don't worry as I believe I stressed before: The chapters will have identical plot, identical! Nothing will change plot-wise besides maybe a few times or names that don't match up (i.e inconsistencies in plot of which there are only minor ones) This will only be a quality overhaul, which I think is more important than quantity by FAR. So hold tight my awesome readers, and I think you'll have some great revised chapters soon and all new chapters as soon as we are finished.

Thanks for your patience! :)

* * *

An inquisitive look struck Toothless' face. This dragon before him, with four hatchlings clinging to his back, looked familiar. He had seen him before, and he had seen him quite recently too.

The way he stared at Toothless was unnerving; like he had done something wrong to this dragon that he didn't even know. His face looked expectant. Urging Toothless on to say something but the crowd stopped him. The silence had gone on for too long. They literally stared at him for minutes in plain silence, pairs of green and golden eyes felt like they were piercing into him.

That's when he remembered. He _had_ seen this dragon not long ago. On their trip to the drove, Hiccup and him had stopped on a small island. After hours of tiresome flight he had been drinking from a pond. The pond was clear and still. Bushes and shrubs alike surrounded the small body of water.

He had seen the dragon in the pond that night. His sharper features rippling in the slight motions of the water, staring up at him while water dripped lightly from his muzzle. Now here, far North It was a stunning image of himself standing before him. Albeit the slightly bluer version.

One of the older dragons stepped up, called 'elders' if toothless remembered correctly.

::Come with me…:: She spoke softly but with purpose.

Toothless worried for his friend, who sat in a makeshift shelter on the shoreline a few kilometres East. But reuniting with his kind would be hard enough, let alone bringing a human rider along, something that probably was not looked too kindly upon by the other Night Furies.

Hesitantly he followed the elder, through the crowd of faces that stared at him blankly, as if. It was all rather creepy to be honest. None of them spoke, just stared.

He took one glance back to the mirror image of himself, before he disappeared with the elder into the harsh, blinding winds.

* * *

They soon faced each other alone. In a semi-spherical large cave that smelt of fire and smoke, its roof decorated with tribal insignia of all kinds. He thought only the humans crafted these kinds of things. Oh how much he had forgotten.

::Narghul?:: She said questioningly, testing that it _really_ was him. There it was again, the name that started all of this.

::I- uhh… Greetings:: Toothless replied, unsure of what to do or say.

The elder gave a look of disappointment, like she expected something greater in his reply.

::What happened to your tail?:: She asked, noticing the ripped aileron. However Toothless had gotten Hiccup to remove the artificial fin system for this encounter, it would only add to the confusion of his return.

::Torn off::

::And you flew here with half a tail?::

::It's a long story::

After raising an eyebrow she sighed deeply, the kind of sigh you would hear in a graveyard, the kind that suggested its producer had given up.

::What happened Narghul? We… we _ALL_ thought you had died a long, long time ago::

::Dead? No, obviously:: At least he had something to talk about now, ::Do you know of the creature known as the Red Death?::

::Yes… The last one died thousands of years ago, before even my parents were born::

::What if I told you they didn't, that _I_ was captured by one. A few weeks' travel south of here::

::Nonsense, nobody has reported anything and, as you know more than well enough, many travel in that region::

::"As I know more than well enough":: He quoted, ::See that's the issue::

::Excuse me?:: She must have misunderstood.

::I can't-:: He struggled to get the words out, ::I can't remember anything before being captured:: He let out in a sigh.

::Nothing? Why so…?:: She said almost mockingly, she believed he was letting her on.

Being captured as such was not something looked favourably upon by Night Furies, he knew that much. They were supposed to be stealthy, invincible. They were _never_ captured. He struggled to get the words out with confidence.

::When the Red Death captures you, it takes over your mind. She removed all my memories, perhaps pushed them back to the deepest corners of my mind, and all I could think about. Day and Night, was serving her::

::But… they just don't exist anymore::

Toothless sighed, ::Surely you noticed something, dragons who went south not returning? Missing dragons Just like myself?::

::Well…:: She started. She had noticed something, no other Night Furies (luckily enough) but many other nests, of other species, had been on very low numbers. Particularly the ones that migrated south annually. She supposed it did make some sense.

::You have noticed something!:: Toothless could see it in her expression.

She sighed ::A small trace, missing dragons from the other species. Many have been finding it hard to get skulls for offerings for their intended mates. There just aren't as many dragons anymore::

::It's her, I'm telling you, there were hundreds of us under her control::

She contemplated the idea, finding it hard to believe but at the same time it explained a lot.

::Narghul, if what you speak of really is true, we must kill it, and soon::

::Oh that's the thing:: Toothless said, ::I killed her already::

* * *

**Two months later**

"Honestly I cannot believe you Night Furies." Hiccup hissed. Wind passing quickly through his hair.

::Can you get over it? What's done is done, we have the tooth and are nearly back::

"Not only do we have to save their arses but we have to prove it too… pfft"

::They're stubborn, much like yourself:: He grumbled, dipping low to the ocean in their flight.

"I'm not stubborn! I don't make us travel thousands of kilometres to get an overgrown tooth."

::I told you to get over it!::

"I'm just sick and tired of travelling. I need a good night's sleep, and some solid ground."

::Speaking of which:: Toothless gestured to the island that began to appear out of the distance. They had approached quite similarly two months ago, this time they were armed with evidence from their kill of the Red Death.

They landed back where Hiccup had made shelter last time.

::Stay here::

"Of course."

::I'm serious Hiccup, these lands aren't safe for a human. If the cold doesn't get you the wildlife will. Farewell, I'll be back tomorrow and we'll see where we can go from there::

Toothless readied himself, trying to figure out the best way to fit the giant tooth in his mouth comfortably. He felt a reassuring hand rest on his tail. He turned around to see the boy staring into his eyes, with a serious, but caring expression he hadn't seen in a long time.

"You said you thought you might have a son?"

Toothless gulped, he didn't want to face the facts, especially after he had been forced to spend another two whole months away from his kind, after staring directly at that dragon that looked all-too similar to himself. _What did he think of him?_

Hiccup said caringly: "He's more important than I am right now. Take your time, I'm sure you have a lot of- uhhh- a lot of catching up to do. I'll be fine here."

The words meant more than the boy could ever know. He had worried about confronting his family from centuries before, he was certain that had been his son, so where was his mother?

Toothless gave his signature gummy smile, and began the several kilometre trip west, it was a relatively short distance but walking took much longer than the quick flight would have::

Hiccup waiting until his friend disappeared into the snowy haze. Now he was alone, glad his best friend could finally reunite with his kind, but alone. His temporary home of choice was more of a dent in the cliff face than a cave, but it would do. It overlooked a small sandy beach lined in a cold, white powder. Toothless had warned him but _by god_ was it cold here. The cold felt like it pinched every surface of his skin and he absorbed it with every surface he touched.

He tried to fix his makeshift shelter from two months before but much of the wood was missing, blown away by the gale-force winds no doubt. He huddled in the corner, trying to conserve his warmth and drifted into a deep sleep, dreaming of fire.

* * *

**Toothless**

::Impressive, but worrying to say the least:: The elder now examined Toothless' proof of the Red Death's existence. She knew the claw was definitely from one.

::Why worry? It's dead?::

She did a light chuckle, like she was mocking his naivety, ::If one was alive, there are more. My parents and theirs before them told only horrors of their species. They kill everything they can and breed like insects, there will be more::

::That is worrying, but for now… I have personal- uhhh- issues::

::Your son?::

::Yeah:: Toothless laughed, but it was a sad laugh, used to mask his sadness from the female. ::I don't even know his name:: he said quietly.

::I'm sorry about what happened, I have heard stories of people losing their memories from these beasts. But none where they forgot their entire family::

::Yes, its going to be real easy sorting things out with a family I don't know anything about, my own family…:: he sighed.

::No need for the depression child. You're still young compared to me, you have many, many years to redeem what you have lost::

This did actually cheer him up, he hadn't thought about just how long he had.

::Thank you.. you never did tell me your name?::

::Vhonne, my name is Vhonne. Welcome back Narghul::

Toothless responded with a light bow (it seemed to be the right thing to do in the moment) and moved outside. It was dawn and he was eager to fix some very broken bonds.

* * *

Toothless approached the cave entrance, Vhonne had tipped him off that this is where his son lived, further across the plains. It sat right on the coastal Cliffside. Where Toothless, or Narghul as they call him, apparently used to live. He entered cautiously, heart pumping at a ludicrous rate. How could he make up for an entire fatherless childhood. As he poked his head through the entrance he swore he looked into a mirror. The reflection was playing with his son but instantly turned his head to the invader of his home.

::What do you want!:: Vargur's voice was harsh.

::S- son?:: Toothless stuttered. _Oh of all the things to say!_

The dragon stood up. The child, larger than when he had last seen him, scurried around into the back of the cave.

Vargur walked up closely to Toothless, circling him, examining him, measuring him up. As if he were a subject to be tortured.

::Son?:: He said even more harshly than his first words::I am not your son. Your '_SON_' died over two hundred years ago! When his very own father, left him alone, to go fuck off on his own agenda. DON'T DARE call me your son!::

::I- I- ::

::You what?:: He mocked ::You left, that's what. You pathetic excuse for a dragon. You think can return now and we'll go out fishing together, maybe talk about females and have a good old laugh?:: He jeered.

::It wasn't _my_ fault, I don't remember anything. I can't remember anything!::

::Vhonne told me everything yesterday:: He hissed.

::So you must understand?::

::I Understand the Red Death was several week's flight south from here::

::What does that have to do with anything?::

::The night you left, you were only meant to go hunting, you were only meant to be on the island. You left us and spent days travelling south. That doesn't happen by accident. You. Left. US!::

This had entirely caught Toothless by surprise. He never even thought about it, how could he have travelled that far? Why would he have travelled that far?

::Son I don't know why, perha-::

::My name is Vargur! And I am not your son!:: Vargur bore his teeth and growled, ::Leave::

::But son- Vargur…::

The roar was all the convincing Toothless needed, he was not wanted here, even by his own son. He turned and ran, as fast as he could, back towards Hiccup. He didn't want any of the dragons to see him like this. But if they were careful enough they would know why he fled with such haste. For if you looked just close enough, every so often you could see a trail of small molten dots of snow.

Where a dragon tear had fallen.


End file.
